Evelyn's Story:The Goblet of Fire
by GeekyLola
Summary: Evelyn Diggory, younger sister of Cedric Diggory, is starting her fourth year at Hogwarts with her three best friends Harry, Ron and Hermione. This year everything is going to change. Friendships will be tested, trust will be broken and hormones will run a muck. But when things become really serious will Evie and friends come out the other side okay? Or will everything fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own my OC

**UPDATE! **Everything from Chapter 6 on has not been changed, and Chapter 5 has minimal changes.

* * *

Flashes, that's all they were. Flashes of a horrible thing that made just enough sense for her to understand an old man had died. Evie sat up with a start. A cold sweat was forming on her forehead. The nightmare meant nothing to her; she had never seen the house before but it was very old and very desolate. An old man she had never seen before was also present in the dream, and Wormtail. He was with a snake, and the old man died. That was all she could make out. It was like no nightmare she'd ever had before. It truly scared her.

Her birth mark was stinging again, something that had started in her first year. It had since become a more normal occurrence. Though Evie still could not understand the reasoning behind it, she figured it had something to do with Voldemort. It was the only explanation she had, as it had not started until the moment she first laid eyes on him.

Evie sighed and looked out of her bedroom window to see it was still dark. She knew she'd just dreamt of something very horrible, but the pictures and even the conversations in her head were so jumbled, so disjointed with thoughts of Wormtail bringing back memories of last year, none of it seemed intelligible. She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned on the lamp beside her bed. The room lit up around her and she sighed in relief, having not realized that up until this moment she had feared she may be somewhere else.

The pain in her birth mark was still present and Evie got out of bed to go to her mirror. Lifting her shirt and pulling her pajama pants down slightly, she studied the crescent shaped mark closely. It was slightly red, as though something had irritated it, but other than that it looked perfectly fine; it just hurt. Evie let her shirt and pants fall back into place as her eyes traveled up to her face. There were bags under her light brown eyes and though they were familiar, they looked as strange as she felt.

It was still late, or maybe it was so early the light hadn't even started to peak over the horizon. Evie rubbed her eyes and yawned. She wondered if she'd be able to sleep anymore after a dream like that. Sighing, she walked back over to her bed and picked up the book on her bedside table. It was another Sherlock Holmes novel, the last one. Ever since Hermione had sent her one for Christmas she had loved the great detective and his loyal companion Watson. As she looked at the book she thought about her friends.

She imagined they'd all be sleeping about now. They probably wouldn't be troubled by any confusing or terrifying nightmares, although she wouldn't be surprised to find that Harry was from time to time considering everything that had happened. She wondered if she ought to write to Harry and Hermione about it. She wondered if she ought to tell Ron. But then she thought of what they'd all say.

Hermione would ask her if there was anything strange about her birthmark and then proceed to look it up in different books that may have some answers. If none presented themselves she might even suggest Evie go to Professor Dumbledore. Evie, however, couldn't imagine anything more pointless. She hadn't ever heard of anyone else having a birthmark like hers, certainly not one that randomly pained them. She also couldn't give Hermione any helpful answers about it. She knew only what she'd accidentally happened upon about hr birth, and subsequently her mother's death.

Harry would probably think she was somehow like him, especially since his scar hurt him from time to time. But his scar hurt usually when Voldemort was near and Evie couldn't think of a single way she or her birthmark could be like Harry. She hadn't been hit with any curses when she was a baby, at least not that she knew of.

Ron would probably laugh it off as some weird girl problems and at that point Evie didn't think she could blame him. She was probably looking far too deep into both the nightmare and the aching birthmark. She would put it from her head.

Her decision made, Evie put the book back on her bedside table, turned off her lamp and rolled over. She only allowed herself to ponder the curiousness of her birthmark for a few more minutes before she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Evie woke up to the sound of knocking on her room door. She grunted at the unwelcome alarm clock. Instead of leaving, her brother Cedric swung open her door and started speaking in an unnecessarily loud voice. "Good morning Evie! Isn't it a lovely day outside?" He pulled the curtains open.

"Ugh! Why are you this type of person?" Evie turned to glare at him from her bed.

"It's late and you're going to miss breakfast," he answered with a smile.

"So?" Evie grumbled.

It was then that Cedric actually got a good look at her face and noticed the slight bags under her eyes.

"You alright?" he asked, looking concerned.

"I didn't sleep well," she answered, trying to wave it off.

"Why not?"

Evie paused as she considered telling him the truth. Everything about her birthmark and every moment that it had hurt her.

"I had this dream…it's all sort of fuzzy now but, it was terrible. Woke me up in the middle of the night." She almost added the part about her birthmark but thought better of it.

"There's something you aren't telling me," Cedric said as he studied her face closely.

"It's not important." Evie tried to make him drop it, but when Cedric continued to look at her expectantly she sighed. "My birthmark hurt. It was stinging when I woke up and it looked irritated, like a bit red."

"That's unusual, isn't it?"

Evie paused again. "Yeah, it is. I don't know what to make of it." Evie started to nibble on her lip but Cedric didn't mention it.

"Alright, well, you probably just slept on it funny. Come on before breakfast gets cold." Cedric got up and left the room and Evie dressed quickly before heading down.

Downstairs a plate already sat in front of her chair and it had been filled with her usual breakfast food.

"Good morning, Dad." Evie smiled as she sat.

"Good morning Evie, glad you finally made it down," Amos teased. His plate was nearly empty at that point. "Hurry and eat, I have a surprise for you both before I head off to work."

Evie looked up to see a twinkle in his eye. She immediately dug in to her breakfast, almost sure she knew what he was going to say and not wanting to wait any longer than she had to for confirmation.

After breakfast, Amos walked into the living room and began to pull on his cloak, slowly getting himself ready to head to work.

"Dad?" Evie followed him and waited as he buttoned up.

"Hmm?" Amos looked at her and she immediately knew he was doing it on purpose.

"Dad!"

"Alright, alright," Amos laughed heartily. He reached into his pocket and pulled out four tickets.

"You got tickets?" Cedric asked, reaching out and grabbing them to see if they are real.

"I did," Amos stated proudly.

"I can't believe it. We're going to the World Cup!" Evie hugged Amos as Cedric just stared at the tickets, beaming. "Wait, why are there four?" she asked after glancing at the tickets in her brother's hands again.

"Well, I thought you might want to invite Miss. Granger as well."

"You really are the best," Evie hugged her father again.

"Alright, you lot. Behave while I'm gone," Amos straightened his robes. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. "Ministry of Magic," he called and disappeared in a flash of green flames.

Evie immediately ran back upstairs for her wand and penned a quick letter to Hermione. When she came down, she sent the letter off with the family owl Bernard and grabbed her shoes, tossing them on quickly.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Cedric asked as she opened the door.

"The Burrow, I've got to tell Ron and see if they got tickets," Evie smiled and ran out the door towards the Weasley house.


	2. Chapter 2

Mrs. Weasley was bustling around the kitchen when Evie arrived.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," she greeted.

"Evie, dear, how are you?" Mrs. Weasley answered, turning from the dough she was kneading.

"Great! How are you?"

"Wonderful. Ron is upstairs; he's writing a letter to Harry."

"Have you got tickets then?" Evie perked up.

"We have! Arthur's managed one for Harry too. We've sent word to his aunt and uncle to see if he can come." Evie frowned at that. "We'll get him no matter what they say, don't you worry about that," Mrs. Weasley assured her sternly. "But I thought it best we ask their permission anyway. Don't want to seem completely rude, might come back on Harry, the poor dear. Anyway, we've offered to keep him the rest of the summer and see him to the train as well. That ought to sway them in our favor," she nodded.

After agreeing with Mrs. Weasley, Evie waved and made her way up the stairs. Without knocking she walked into Ron's room.

"Hey, I just heard the good ne-" Suddenly, a flying ball of feathers attacked. "OUCH!" She ducked and began scanning the room. "What is that thing?"

"That's my new owl, Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me too, but he's mine at least."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, I think he just gets excited," Ron shrugged. "What were you saying?" He turned from his desk.

"What? Oh, yeah, we're going to the World Cup too," Evie answered, keeping an eye out for Pig, who was still zooming around the room.

"Wicked! We're gonna grab Harry."

"Your mum told me. We got a ticket for Hermione. I just wrote her earlier asking if she could come."

"I'll tell Harry." Ron added to his letter. "Take this to Harry, Harry Potter," Ron said carefully. Pig flew off at the speed of light the second the letter was secure.

"You think it'll make it?" Evie watched the small owl go.

"He's got a better chance than Errol," Ron sighed.

"How are you going to get him?"

"We'll floo."

"Can you do that?"

Ron opened his mouth to answer, but something that sounded suspiciously like a small explosion sounded from below them and he stopped.

"What was that?"

"Probably Fred and George working on more Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stuff."

"More what?"

Evie left that evening with green tinted hair and a deeper understand of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. A letter was waiting for her at the house. Hermione was arriving the very next day.

* * *

Evie woke up well rested, nightmare free, and back to being a brunette. She showered and dressed quickly, and went downstairs for breakfast. It was her father's day off, which meant he would be sleeping in and Evie and Cedric were on their own for breakfast. Evie made herself some oatmeal and tea, then sat at the table reading her book and enjoying a quiet breakfast.

"Morning," Cedric greeted, as he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning." Evie set down her book.

"You didn't make enough for two?" He turned to her with narrowed eyes as she continued to eat her oatmeal.

"I didn't know you'd be up so early. I did make enough tea for two," she defended.

"Well, thanks." Cedric turned to make himself a cuppa. "How did you sleep?" His back was still to her, oatmeal beginning to heat on the stove.

"Well, how about you?" Evie watched him carefully over the rim of her mug.

"Quite well, thanks," he nodded, still not turning towards her. "And…your birthmark?"

"Normal, as usual." Evie raised an eyebrow to her brother's back. "Cedric…what are you thinking?"

"Nothing…"

"You're lying." She set down her mug then.

"I just, every now and then I think back in what I remember of Mum."

"So?" Evie drew the word out, tilting her head.

"So, I can picture her face well enough. I can picture some of my last memories of her. I just can't seem to picture her pre–"

"Good morning!" Their father burst into the room, more chipper than normal.

"Morning, Dad." Evie turned from Cedric hesitantly.

"Morning." Cedric turned to look at Evie in a way she had never seen before. "Would you like some oatmeal?"

"Yes, sounds wonderful," Amos smiled and patted his son on the shoulder. "Evie, what time is Miss. Granger supposed to be coming today?"

"In the afternoon. Thanks for letting her stay the rest of the summer," Evie smiled.

"Not at all. It's only two weeks." Amos waved off his daughter's appreciation.

The family ate breakfast with easy and comfortable conversation flowing between them, mostly excitement about the World Cup final.

After breakfast Amos set the dishes to washing themselves and Cedric and Evie retired to their rooms. About an hour reading Evie heard a knock on her door.

"Yes?" she called.

Cedric entered and sat in the chair next to her desk. He turned it around and pulled it towards her. "Hey."

"Hey?" She set her book aside, slightly annoyed that she couldn't seem to finish it.

"I've just been thinking."

"That's always dangerous," Evie teased.

"Shut it." Cedric gave her a warning look.

"Sorry, continue."

"I think I'm going to ask Cho Chang to be my girlfriend."

"Well, isn't that something," Evie smiled.

"You think she'll say yes?"

"Are you kidding? She's only fancied you forever," Evie laughed.

"How d'you know?"

"Cedric." Evie paused to roll her eyes before using her fingers as tallies. "She blushes every time she sees you, goes out of her way to talk to you, _and_ she laughs at your jokes, which really are never funny."

"My jokes are hilarious." Cedric looked at her with mock insult.

"They're really not." Evie gave him a slightly apologetic smile. "_But_ she still laughs, that's the point. I laugh because they are either so bad I can't help myself or because I'm worried nobody else will. She laughs because that's what girls do for boys they fancy." Evie gave him a knowing look.

Cedric sat there for a moment, just thinking. "When did you get so smart?" he joked.

"I've always been smarter than you. You just refuse to admit it," Evie teased back. "She'll say yes, just be yourself."

"Thank, Little sis."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out of my room. I've been trying to finish this book all summer."

Cedric rolled his eyes at her, but left nonetheless, even pulling door closed behind him.

Another hour later, and two pages from the end of her novel, Evie was once again interrupted.

"Evie!" She heard her father's muffled voice calling for her.

"Hold on, Dad. I'm almost done."

"Ron's here!"

Setting the book aside, Evie screamed into her pillow before standing up and leaving her room.

"Hey, is Hermione here yet?" Ron was asking before she'd even completely descended the stairs.

"No, she won't be here for a few more hours."

"Oh," Ron sighed.

"Good to see you too, Ron."

"Right, sorry," the redhead cringed. "I found out after you left yesterday that the Muggles said yes to Harry staying with us. We won't have to break him out again."

Evie nodded glancing at the clock in the kitchen. "It's already after two."

"Yes, and I've got to go into Diagon Alley today. Would like to go with me?" Amos cut in.

"I think I'll wait here for Hermione, just in case," Evie answered.

"I'll go with you, Dad. I've got to get something for someone anyway," Cedric said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh? Is it for anyone in particular?" Evie grinned, eyeing her brother.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," Cedric grinned back.

"Quite classy, to get her a gift."

"Are you ready now?" Amos asked Cedric.

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's go. Behave while we're gone." Amos gave Evie a pointed look.

"We will," she smiled.

Ron and Evie hung out the entire time Cedric and Amos were in Diagon Alley. They mostly played Wizard's Chess.

"Ugh!" Evie lamented as she lost yet another match.

"Maybe we should quit for the day," Ron smiled as they reset the board again.

"I was close that time!" Evie defended.

Before Ron could respond the fireplace roared to life and Cedric and Amos walked through one after the other.

"Is this what you've been doing this whole time?" Cedric laughed as he noticed them in the corner of the living room where the chess set is.

"Yeah," Ron grinned.

"I take it you've been taking her down a peg then?" Cedric smiled.

"I almost won the last match," Evie repeated.

"It's getting late. Shouldn't you head home? Evie said you were getting Harry at five," Cedric asked.

Both Ron and Evie looked up at the clock to see it was nearly five. "Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed.

"Language," Amos chastised.

"Sorry, Mr. Diggory. See you, Evie." Ron rushed out the kitchen door and across the field towards The Burrow.

An hour later there was a knock on the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

Evie jumped up quickly and rushed to the door. When she opened it, she was greeted by the bushy brown hair and large smile of her best friend Hermione Granger. "Hello, Hermione!" she greeted happily.

"Hello, Evie!" Hermione smiled in return. Behind her were her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Both were dentists, something Evie had come to know as Muggle teeth Healers. She found the very idea absolutely fascinating, Healers for teeth.

"Nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Would you like to come in?" Evie stepped out of the way to let the Granger family in. They greeted her politely in turn and walked inside, Mr. Granger carried Hermione's school trunk with him. It sounded quite heavy. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were looking around curiously. Evie was sure they hadn't ever really seen a wizarding home. She imagined she would be staring the same in their home.

"Hello." Amos greeted behind her, coming over to shake Mr. and Mrs. Granger's hands. Amos and the Grangers were fairly familiar with each other. They often stood in the background as their daughters ran off to purchase their school books. Their conversation was always polite, if a bit stiff, as they themselves probably did not consider each other to be friends exactly.

Amos directed Mr. Granger to the guest room so he could put Hermione's trunk down. Then Hermione's parents said their goodbyes, as they had a long drive back ahead of them.

After they left, Evie took Hermione up to the guest room to show her where she'd be sleeping. The guest room at the Diggory cottage was rarely used. It was neutral in color, cream and beige for the most part. "Right, so my room is just there at the end of the hall. So we'll be really close. The toilet is just across the hall. Cedric's room is the door right next to it and Dad's is right next to yours. You can let Crookshanks out, if you want. Bernard and Noel hunt during the day when they've got nothing to do, so he won't be a threat to anyone. Just be sure to bring him back in the room at night so he doesn't wander into Cedric's room and find Noel." Evie explained as they stood in the doorway of the guest room.

"Right, well, what should we do now?" Hermione asked looking a bit excited as she set Crookshanks loose on the house.

"Well…oh! Harry should be at The Burrow by now. Let's head over there and say hello." Evie suggested, as she remembered the time.

The two girls rushed down the stairs and towards the back door, only to be called back by Amos.

"Where are you girls off to?" He asked as he eyed them from the living room.

"The Burrow, Harry should be there now and we wanted to say hi." Evie explained.

"Alright, but don't be too late." Amos ordered.

"We won't." Evie called as she had already opened the door and was halfway outside. They rushed across the wide field and into the Weasley's kitchen. "Hello?" Evie called.

"Hello, Evie, who is this?" Two red headed young men sat at the table. One was short and stocky, with a broad smiling face and short curly hair. He had light scars and burns on his arms and his face was so freckled it almost looked tan. The other, the one who had spoken, was thin and lanky like Ron. His hair was long and worn in a ponytail. He wore a fang earring and dragon hide boots and his freckles were much more tamed than his brother's.

"Hello Bill. Hello Charlie. Sorry I didn't see you there." Evie walked over to the two oldest Weasley boys smiling brightly. She had been reintroduced to them for the first time in a long time earlier in the summer. They had also come for the World Cup. "This is Hermione; she's only just arrived this afternoon." Evie motioned to Hermione who came up to shake both Weasleys' hands. "Hermione, this is Charlie." Evie introduced as Hermione shook the hand of the stockier boy. "And this is Bill." Hermione shook the other boy's hand.

"It's nice to meet you both, Ron has told me so much about you," Hermione greeted politely.

"You don't have to be formal with them, Hermione. It's not like talking to Percy," Evie joked, winking at the two boys who laughed.

"She's right; I get enough of the stuffy talk at work," Bill confirmed.

"And I work with dragons so any conversation that doesn't end in me nearly dying is considered polite," Charlie added with a laugh. This loosened Hermione up fairly quickly.

"Are they back with Harry yet?" Evie asked, looking around.

"Oh, we aren't enough for you?" Bill pulled a mock hurt face.

"That's clearly something Fred and George learned from you," Evie commented, pursing her lips at him. "They're rubbish at it too," She added, causing both Hermione and Charlie to laugh.

"They've only just gone a little bit ago actually," Charlie answered Evie's question.

"Have they? I thought they were supposed to be getting him at five." Evie checked the clock, then remembered, as it always took her a minute to, that the Weasley clock doesn't show time; it instead showed the location of each of the Weasleys.

"They left late. Dad had to get the floo set up with his connection in the Ministry," Bill answered and Evie nodded her understanding.

"They traveled by floo to get him?" Hermione asked. Evie, Bill and Charlie all nodded. "Did they ask Harry's aunt and uncle if that was okay?"

"I asked the same question!" Evie blurted out. "Ron said there was no reason they shouldn't be okay with it."

"Hello Evie, and Hermione dear, so good to see you!" Mrs. Weasley walked into the kitchen at that moment. "Would you like to come into the living room with Ginny and me while you wait for Arthur and the boys to get back?" She walked over and hugged Hermione before ushering the two girls into the living room.

When they entered, Ginny was no longer in the room. "Where did that girl get to?" Mrs. Weasley wondered out loud. She started up the stairs and having nothing else to do Evie and Hermione followed her.

They found Ginny in her room, brushing her hair. Evie and Hermione had to smile because they knew why she was doing it. Poor Ginny just blushed when she realized she'd been caught. "Hello Hermione." Ginny smiled.

"Hello, Ginny. It's good to see you." Hermione's knowing smile stayed planted on her face.

"Your hair looks lovely, Gin," Evie commented, trying to sound offhanded, but failing a bit she imagined.

Just then a commotion could be heard from the kitchen, and it sounded like Mr. Weasley was yelling. "Oh, what's happened now?" Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips and rushed past Evie and Hermione, heading down the stairs. The three girls followed quickly behind her, eager to see what was happening.

"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley was fussing. "Wait until I tell your mother –"

"Tell me what Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley and the girls reached the kitchen just in time to hear this part of the conversation clearly.

In the little bit of time they had been gone, the kitchen in The Burrow had filled quickly with gingers and one messy raven haired boy.

"Oh, hello, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley's voice instantly cheered up when she spotted him. She then rounded back to Mr. Weasley. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

Evie could see from Mr. Weasley's face that he had probably not actually intended for his wife to hear anything that had happened while they were off getting Harry from the Dursleys. They all watched in silence as Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously, trying to figure out what to do.

"It's nothing Molly," Mr. Weasley mumbled. "Fred and George just – but I've had words with them – "

"What have they done this time?" Mrs. Weasley cut in. "if it's got anything to do with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes –"

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping Ron?" Evie cut in quickly.

"Harry knows where he's sleeping," Ron looked at her confused. "In my room, he slept there last –"

"We can all go." Hermione eyed him pointedly, understanding what Eve was doing much quicker than Ron.

"Oh," said Ron as he began to get it too. "Right."

"We'll go too," Said George.

"You stay right where you are," Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Harry and Ron eased out of the kitchen and then the five of them walked up towards Ron's room.

"What are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked. Ron, Evie and Ginny all started laughing. Hermione just looked as confused as Harry.

Evie and Hermione stayed at the Weasley's for dinner probably later than they should have. As such, the next morning when Amos knocked on her door to rouse her, Evie found that she hadn't had nearly the amount of sleep she preferred. It was still dark out and though she knew where they were going, she was still not happy to be up so early. She slowly shuffled herself from bed to wardrobe as she tried to open her eyes enough to actually see what she was grabbing.

She could hear the equally sluggish movements from the rooms next to her and was glad to find that she wasn't the only one almost too exhausted to move. Yawning and rubbing her eyes free of the crumbly bits in their corners, Evie opened her eyes wide and stared at her clothes. She knew she was not to wear any robes so muggles didn't notice anything odd. She grabbed some jeans and a teal jumper and dressed as quickly as she could manage.

After she dressed Evie was glad she had packed her rucksack the night before, seeing as she didn't have the mental capacity to figure out what she might need this early in the morning. Grabbing the bag she made her way down the stairs, if a bit clumsily.

In the kitchen Amos was stirring oatmeal on the stove. Cedric was sitting in his usual seat, seemingly unaffected by how early it was. As Evie took her seat Hermione made her way down the stairs. She looked pale and drowsy and her hair was particularly unruly. Evie imagined she looked much the same as her friend.

"Morning," Hermione mumbled as she slumped into her chair.

"Morning," The Diggorys all greeted her back, though two of those greetings were definitively more lively than one.

As Amos started ladling oatmeal into bowls and handing them out, he smiled at the two girls. "I told you not to be out too late. You knew we were heading out early."

"We didn't plan on being out that late," Evie grumbled sulkily as both her father and brother grinned at her grumpiness.

"Well I slept wonderfully," Cedric teased.

"Oh, shut it," Evie snapped, with minimal energy. Amos handed her a bowl and tried to hold back his smile. As she ate, Evie's mood improved exponentially. Breakfast was a mostly quiet affair, as the sleep was just leaving Evie and Hermione. Most of the conversation was between Amos and Cedric as they speculated on who would win the Cup.

When breakfast was over Amos cleaned the dishes and locked down the house. Then the Diggorys and Hermione began the trek to Stoatshead Hill, which was the designated Portkey spot closest to them.

They walked through the town of Ottery St. Catchpole is darkness, Evie was surprised they didn't run into Harry and the Weasleys on the way. The town itself was a sleepy little place on any normal occasion, but passing by when the sky was still dark was weird for Evie. The town didn't look sleepy, it looked dead. All the shop windows were dark and reflected the small group's silent journey to the hill. Every house was closed up tight and not much sound besides snoring could be heard. As they reached Stoatshead it loomed over them shrouded in darkness.

The lack of light made it hard to see as they trekked up the hill. Nobody spoke as the climb was a tough one. Evie and Hermione fell behind Amos and Cedric as they continued on. Just when Evie had tripped over her last rabbit hole and was about to claim defeat, the ground leveled off and she was thankful to see they reached the top.

"Alright, spread out and look for it." Amos requested of the group. He and Cedric started off immediately.

"What are we looking for?" Hermione asked Evie was they started off together.

"Well, technically I'm not sure. But Portkey's are usually things muggles would consider litter, things they wouldn't want to pick up and take home. It'll be decently small, also. Not really my favorite way to travel to be honest with you. I was never very good at it." Evie shrugged.

As they continued to look the sky began to lighten and the distant sound of footsteps began to reach their ears.

"That must be Ron and Harry," Hermione commented.

"Yeah, maybe we should go say good morning," Evie suggested, mostly because she didn't feel like searching for the Portkey anymore. Hermione nodded and they searched their way to the direction of the footsteps they had heard. They kept looking as they went and before they reached Harry and Ron they heard Amos call out to the group.

"Over here, I've got it!" They immediately turned in the direction of her father instead.

Evie endured a very embarrassing and uncomfortable conversation in which her dad boasted about Cedric's victory over Harry in their Quidditch match the year previous. Being saved only by Mr. Weasley telling them it was time to gather around because the Portkey would be leaving shortly.

Evie stood close to Cedric to make room for everyone, and placed her first two fingers on the boot. She then motioned Harry and Hermione to follow. "You've just got to touch it." She explained to them as they followed her lead.

It was a tight fit, with all the full bags they carried. "It's not a great feeling," Evie added the warning to her two friends.

"Three…" muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two…one…"

The feeling she dreaded was immediate, as usual. Like something was pulling her by the navel up and away from the ground. Hermione was on one side of her and Cedric was on the other. Their shoulders all banged into each other and she closed her eyes, never liking the swirl of colors and howl of wind that accompanied this mode of travel. Evie partially wanted to pull her finger away from the boot so it would stop, but she knew from her attempt the first time she had ever traveled this way that it wasn't possible. She was probably lucky it wasn't as she always jerked back a bit at the initial yanking, and who knows where she might end up, or what other unfortunate things would happen to her if she was ever able to.

Soon her feet slammed onto the ground again and her knees buckled under her, as they always did. Cedric was also used to this and reached out to grab her before she crumbled to the ground. It seemed as though, with the exception of Cedric, their father, and Mr. Weasley, everyone else ended up on the ground. Evie was happy to know she would not have been alone had she toppled. With Cedric's arm still holding hers firmly, Evie straightened herself up.

"Thanks." She smiled at her brother, gratefully. She held out a hand to Hermione and then patted her hair back into place before turning to catch her first view of the Quidditch World Cup grounds.


	4. Chapter 4

There wasn't much to look at, to be honest. Not in this area at least. They were in a deserted and misty moor. In front of them were two, haggard looking wizards. One holding a large gold pocket watch, and the other had a roll of parchment. It was quite clear neither of them knew much about Muggles, as the man with the watch wore a tweed suit and thigh-high galoshes and the man with the parchment wore a kilt and poncho. Evie found it hard not to laugh at this awkward sight.

Mr. Weasley greets the man in the kilt, who seemed to be passive aggressively angry about working instead of relaxing and enjoying the Cup. Mr. Weasley handed him the old boot, which went into a box filled with used Portkeys, soggy news papers and deflated footballs.

Basil, as Mr. Weasley had called the kilted man, checked his parchment to give them their fields. "Weasley…about a quarter mile walk that way. First field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory, second field…ask for Mr. Payne."

"Thanks Basil." Mr. Weasley smiled as he beckoned the group to follow him. They walked across the deserted moor together, hardly being able to see anything through the mist. They walked twenty minutes before the first cottage came into view. Behind it sat hundreds of tents and the ghostly shapes of hundreds of witches and wizards walking around the camp grounds. As they got closer to the cottage they separated.

"Hermione and I will come find you after we set up our tent." Evie said as they waved to the Weasleys and Harry and continued on towards the next cottage, some fifteen feet away.

"Are we sharing one tent?" Hermione turned to Evie looking a bit worried.

"Of course we are." Evie laughed. "Why on earth wouldn't we? We don't need that much room!" Evie stared at her friend incredulously. They continued on quietly until they came upon the cottage.

The man standing in front of it looked up with a smile as they walked towards him. "More campers?" He asked brightly.

"Yes, are you Mr. Payne?" Amos asked.

"I am! I must say this has been a good time for us. Don't usually get this many people reserving spots around here. Hardly even get this many people just showing up."

"Indeed? Well, all is usually well when business is good, eh?" Amos laughed.

"You got that right." Mr. Payne nodded. "Got a family, and more money is always good. Looks like you know what I'm talking about." Mr. Payne inclined his head towards Evie, Hermione and Cedric.

"Well, only two of these are mine." Amos laughed, pointing to Evie and Cedric. "This is my daughter's best friend. She's spending the rest of the summer with us." He indicated Hermione, who smiled politely at Mr. Payne.

"Well, isn't that nice. You know, my daughter had a friend like that. I don't think I've ever seen two girl closer. They might as well have been twins." Mr. Payne laughed. Evie found it hard to focus on the stories he told as he did his job. She, like most teenagers found the stories of old men to lack excitement and intrigue.

She did note, however, that thanks to his love of story telling, he didn't seem to notice at all when Amos struggled to handle the Muggle money and seemed to not care one bit at the abundance of weirdly dressed people that, if the two older Ministry workers were any indication, must have looked absolutely laughable. After finally figuring out the money and getting a map of the camp grounds and a friendly send off they started off to find their space.

They walked along a long row of tents, but none were stirring inside, it was far too early for anyone who had been there to be awake. Many of the tents looked almost Muggle. Evie listened as Hermione pointed out the ones that had done a very good job looking like ordinary Muggle tents, and they both could tell some had not tried at all. The three story tents and the gardened tents and the tents which might as well be houses.

They were at the very end of the row. The last spot before the woods was empty, with a sigh hammered into the ground that read 'Diggory'.

"Well, we couldn't have gotten a better spot. The pitch is just on the other side of those woods!" Amos commented happily. "We aren't allowed to use magic when we're out in these numbers so we'll have to put the tent up by hand. Ms. Granger, I believe this is your forte. Where ought we begin?" All three Diggorys turned to Hermione.

She walked them through setting up the tent, just as one would expect Hermione to. It was perfectly understandable and she sounded almost like a Hogwarts Professor as she spoke. When they were done, they stood back and proudly admired their handiwork.

"Yes, this should be perfect." Amos said as he crawled into the opening of their tent, which was tan and appeared only large enough for three bodies and no equipment.

"Erm, Evie, this is going to be a rather tight fit, don't you think?" Hermione looked at her worriedly.

"Hermione, we have magic, remember?" Evie smiled, before following behind Cedric, who had just crawled into the tent.

Hermione followed behind Evie, and stopped. "Whoa." Inside the tent looked like a small two bedroom apartment. There was also a bathroom and kitchen.

"Told you we'd only need the one tent." Evie nudged Hermione teasingly. Hermione just looked at her and smiled.

"Alright, girls, you'll be in that room, and we lads will be just across the lounge in this room." Amos pointed Evie and Hermione to the room on the right and then headed towards the room on the left to set down his rucksack. "We were told we shouldn't be using the stove, but that using the bathroom in the tents will be alright, so we'll have to get water and wood for fight, because we'll be cooking the Muggle way." Amos sighed as he looked at the stove longingly. Everyone had just returned to the lounge after putting their stuff away.

"Hermione and I can go get water." Evie offered. "We'll look for Harry and Ron when we go." She added to Hermione quietly.

"Alright, Ced, you and I will go for fire wood. Ms. Granger, you wouldn't happen to know how to light a fire the Muggle way, would you?" Amos asked Hermione.

"Not unless someone brought matches." Hermione smiled apologetically.

"Right, well a little spark from the wand shouldn't cause too much trouble." Amos waved it off. Handing the girls a kettle and large pot from the kitchen he sent them off with the map of the camp site.

They found Harry and Ron before they found the water pump. They turned out to be only a few feet from each other.

As the four walked towards the water pump, their fellow witches and wizards began to awaken. A mother scolded her son for taking his father's wand to produce slugs. Two young girls, barely older the four were playing on toy brooms that rose off the ground just enough to let their toes skim the dewy grass. Poor Ministry officials spotting these acts of magic rushed around, trying to keep it from the Muggles. Older witches and wizards were emerging from their tents and beginning to make breakfast. Some were sneaking to light fires from their wands; others were striking matches, looks of disbelief on their faces as they found the matches worked. Evie could hear bits of conversations in all different languages. Though Evie could not understand any of the languages she heard, she could understand that everyone was excited.

"Is it just me, or has everything gone green?" Ron said suddenly, and Evie's eyes caught up to her feet.

They had walked into a patch of tents that were completely covered in shamrocks. The cover of shamrocks was so thick, the tents just looked like weirdly shaped hills. But smiling faces could be seen inside the tents whose flaps were open. "Well, this is clearly a group of Ireland fans." Evie smirked.

"Hey you guys!" They suddenly heard behind them, and from the tone they could tell it was a meant for them.

Turning around they found it was Seamus Finnigan. He was sitting in front of his own shamrock covered tent. Beside him was a woman with sandy blonde hair, who could only be his mother, and his best friend Dean Thomas.

"Like the decorations? The Ministry's not too happy." Seamus said, grinning.

"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colors?" Mrs. Finnigan said. "You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" she added, eyeing them all beadily. Once they had assured her that they would indeed be supporting Ireland, they continued on, though Ron added, "Like we'd say anything else surrounded by that lot?"

"Wait, are you not supporting Ireland?" Evie turned on Ron quickly.

"I wonder what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents?" Hermione pondered out loud, presumably stopping the possible argument that might have started between Evie and Ron.

"Let's go and have a look." Said Harry, pointing to the large section of tents up field with a Bulgarian flag was fluttering in the breeze.

When they reached the patch they saw that each and every one of the tents had the same poster of a surly face with heavy black eyebrows attached to it. The poster, of course, was moving. Though all it did was blink and scowl at them.

"Krum." Said Ron quietly. Evie nodded with a barely audible 'hmm'.

"What?" Hermione said.

"Krum!" said Ron. "Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!"

"He looks really grumpy." Hermione commented as she looked around at the many Krums blinking and scowling.

"He always looks like that." Evie shrugged.

"Who cares what he looks like?" Ron cut in. "He's unbelievable. He's really young too. Only just eighteen or something. He's a genius, you wait until tonight, you'll see."

"Oh, not you too Ronald!" Evie huffed.

"What?" Ron looked at her.

"Krum is good, but he isn't that good. Besides, he's been carrying that team. They can't survive with just him doing something."

"Oh, please! You know he's brilliant, don't even pretend he isn't!" Evie and Ron continued to fuss at each other as they waited through the queue for the tap. Their argument ended when they finally got their water and started back towards the Weasley's campsite.

Along the way they saw many familiar faces. They ran into Oliver Wood, the old Gryffindor Quidditch team Captain, and the boy Evie spent her first three years fancying. They ended up meeting his parents and finding out that he had been signed to Puddlemere United's reserve team. Finally fully realizing that Oliver would not be returning to Hogwarts, Evie found it hard to tear her eyes away from him, but took solace in the fact that she'd probably get to look at him again one day as she watched him play professional Quidditch.

They then bumped into Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff in their year that Evie always found to be friendly and helpful. She always enjoyed pleasant conversation with him when they met in the halls, class, or in the Hufflepuff common room as she visited Cedric.

Finally they ran into Cho Chang.

"Hello Cho!" Evie paused to chat amicably with her.

"Oh, hi Evie. I didn't know you were coming." Cho smiled kindly, and Evie noticed her scan the group and the slight disappointment in her eyes as she noticed Cedric was not there.

"Yeah, Dad surprised us with tickets just a few days ago." Evie laughed.

When Cho finally acknowledged the rest of the group that was with her, Evie did not miss the fact that Harry went out of his way to wave at Cho, spilling quite a bit of water down his front in the process. She raised an eyebrow, but remained silent as Harry blushed deeply at his blunder.

"Well, we've got to get this water back to the tent; I'll let Cedric know I saw you." Evie waved, trying to get Harry as far away from Cho as possible.

"Alright, bye." Cho blushed a delicate rose color at the mention of Cedric.

As the group rushed off Ron started to tease Harry about his wet front, but Harry quickly changed the subject to a group of teens that were unfamiliar to them all. Ron commented that they must go to another school, and Harry seemed a bit surprised at the information that there were other magic schools around.

"You didn't think Hogwarts was the only one, did you Harry?" Evie looked at him surprised.

"Well, no, I suppose I couldn't have. I just never really thought about it."

When they made it back to the Weasley campsite George fussed at them. "You've been ages!"

"We ran into a few people." Ron shrugged. "You haven't got that fire going yet?"

"Dad's having fun with the matches." Said Fred.

Evie looked over to find a pile of splintered matches on the ground at Mr. Weasley's feet. She watched on, with the look of a mother bemused at her wonder struck child, as Mr. Weasley lit a match, then promptly dropped it in surprise. "Oops!" He chuckled.

"Come here, Mr. Weasley." Hermione said kindly, then helped him light the fire.

"We'd better be off. Dad will be wondering where we've got to." Evie smiled, waving to the Weasleys and Harry as she and Hermione picked up their kettle and pot of water. "We'll stop by so we can walk to the pitch together later, alright?"

When Evie and Hermione got back to their own tent they found that Cedric and Amos were waiting for them.

"You took forever." Cedric complained, echoing George's sentiments from not 5 minutes ago. Evie smiled at the similarity.

"Well, if you're going to complain about how long we took maybe I won't tell you where a certain Ravenclaw Seeker has set up her camp." Evie teased as he and her dad took the water from the two girls in order to prepare breakfast.

"You ran into Cho?" Cedric perked up, pausing in his movements with the large pot.

"Oh, did you want to see her? I couldn't tell by how ungratefully you greeted us." Evie smirked, loving having something to hold over his head for a while.

"You aren't seriously going to keep that from me are you?" Cedric looked at her worriedly.

"Say you're sorry."

Cedric paused for a moment. "You know it's not very nice to force people to do things."

"I'm not a Hufflepuff Cedric, Gryffindor's aren't known for being nice." Evie joked.

He narrowed his eyes at his sister. "I'm sorry." He grumbled.

"Now say, Evie is the best sister in the world and without her I'd be lost and-"

"Evie, stop messing with your brother." Amos rolled his eyes in amusement at his children's antics. As he continued to cook someone from across the way emerged from their bright green tent, which had a birdbath in front and waved pleasantly to him.

The two began exchanging pleasantries and Amos' focus left his children for the fellow he clearly knew from work.

Evie sighed despite her father's lack of attention. "She's a little ways past the Weasley plot, about two rows I believe."

"Thank you." Cedric smiled. "You drive me crazy sometimes."

"You drive me crazy too." Evie smiled.

After breakfast they cleaned their dished and cook wear the Muggle way. Amos found it tiresome, but Evie found the sudden abundance of Muggle knowledge interesting.

After they cleaned, Amos was still busy greeting odd Ministry officials and talking amicably. Cedric, Evie and Hermione retired to the tent for a bit. They all sat around the table relaxing.

Outside the noise of many witches and wizards bustling about wafted through the open flaps of the tent. Most of the noise way joyful and excited while every now and then the sound of a scornful mother or worried official pierced through the rest of the sound.

Cedric sat reading The Daily Prophet which had been provided in large piles at intervals along the camp site. Every now and then he mumbled about the predictions made for the final match. Usually it was some anger at the fact that some thought that Bulgaria might actually win against Ireland.

Evie and Hermione were only partially paying attention to his musings, as they were in the middle of discussing one of Evie's favorite topics, the Muggle World.

"You've got to give me more books by your Muggle authors. I've finished all the Sherlock Holmes, he was wonderful! Do you have anymore with him? Or anymore detective ones?"

"No I'm sorry, that really was the last of the Sherlock novels." Hermione smiled apologetically as Evie's smile faltered. "Do you like the detective stories?"

"Are you kidding? They're amazing! The sleuthing, the mystery, the deducing!" Evie smiled excitedly. "I find the idea of these Muggle detectives very exciting."

"I knew you'd like them." Hermione smiled triumphantly. "I might have some ideas as to what you might like to read next. You like Jane Austen as well, right?"

"Oh yes, she is really the only Muggle writer besides Shakespeare we find in the bookstores. But I don't really like Mr. Shakespeare. He's so depressing and everyone's always dying in his plays. I mean, that Romeo and Juliet? It was hardly a love story...more like a bloodbath." Evie rolled her eyes.

At that, Cedric and Hermione laughed. Then, realizing how late in the afternoon it was getting Cedric stood quickly. "I want to go find Cho before we have to head towards our seats." He explained as the girls looked at him curiously.

"Oh, well we can go with you. We were supposed to meet up with the Weasleys and Harry so we could walk towards the pitch together." Hermione reminded Evie, and they both stood as well.

"That's actually a great idea. I can show you where we ran into Cho." Evie added.

As the trio left the tent, they found that Amos had wandered off talking to some friends at some point. "We should leave Dad a note at least." Cedric said, rushing back inside to pen a quick note and leaving it on the table, making sure to place a glass on the corner so it wouldn't accidentally get blown off. For a split second Evie wondered why he didn't just place a sticking charm on it, then remembering that their dad had told them all they were not allowed to do magic, she smiled. Cedric always tried to follow the rules, something she herself had once done, though with friends like Harry and Ron that became increasingly harder to do.

As they walked they could hear the excitement in the camp grounds rise steadily. Evie people watched as they walked, her own heart beat speeding up as she listened to the excitement in others voices and she realized over and over again what she was about to bear witness to.

Beside her, Cedric and Hermione were starting up a conversation.

"So, Hermione, you aren't much of a fan of Quidditch are you? I remember Evie told me once that you didn't care for the sport."

"I don't care for many sports, honestly. But I have learned a great deal about it from reading."

Cedric smiled kindly. "You can't learn everything from books, Hermione. Some things must be lived to be truly experienced."

"Yes well, I prefer to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground, thanks." Hermione laughed amicably.

"Oh, so you're afraid of heights, like Evie?"Evie could tell Cedric was honestly trying to understand what Hermione didn't like about the sport he loved so much.

"No, it's not the heights; it's the plummeting I have an aversion to." Hermione explained.

"Well then," Cedric laughed. "Quidditch is definitely not for you." Evie couldn't help but laugh as well. Cedric's laugh was always infectious to her.

As they reached the Weasley's tent, Evie sent Hermione in without her. She then led Cedric to the area she remembered seeing Cho and told him she'd meet him at the game. "Good luck." She teased before turned away from his glaring face and making her way back to her friends.

Evie was greeted with an overview of everything she and Hermione had missed. Apparently Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports had stopped by the tent, along with none other than Mr. Barty Crouch Sr. who was Percy's boss. Bagman had let slip that something would be happening at Hogwarts and it was big. But the boys had gotten no more than that as apparently the students weren't supposed to know about it. This information caught Evie and Hermione's attention, much the same as it had obviously caught the attention of the four youngest Weasley's and Harry's.

Before too long, it was time to head towards the pitch. On the way they passed several salesmen who were all offering assorted souvenirs.

Ron bought a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, but he also purchased a small figure of Viktor Krum, which passed back and forth on his hand, looking up every now and then to scowl at the rosette. Then they found a salesman who had Omnioculars, and Ron regretted the hat. Harry ended up buying a pair for all four of them, Ron only taking his after Harry swore he'd get no Christmas presents for the next ten years.

Evie, for her part, bought a large green rosette as well. She also bought an Ireland scarf, and spent the rest of the walk making faces at Ron's small Viktor Krum figure.


	5. Chapter 5

The Quidditch World Cup was something Evie could hardly describe. Amos had gotten seats next to the Weasleys so they didn't have to separate again. Evie was grateful she and her friends could all share their first World Cup together.

The stadium was the biggest one Evie had ever seen. Their group was sitting as high up as they could go and everywhere she looked there were vendors trying to sell things, witches and wizards decked out in their team's colors, and Ministry officials trying to keep everything moving smoothly.

In their box, when everyone was situated Evie was staring at the pitch in absolute delight when she heard a squeaky voice behind her. She turned to find Harry conversing with a small house elf which big brown eyes and a nose the shape of a tomato. She said her name was Winky and she was saving the spot for her master. She said Dobby, the house elf Evie had heard so much about from Harry, was out demanding pay for his work and having fun. Winky herself seemed against the idea, something Hermione was clearly finding absolutely horrible.

The box started filling in with Ministry officials Evie didn't know. Her father and Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with them though. And for a while Percy kept jumping up to greet them, that was until the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, came in and he bowed so low his glasses slid off his face and shattered. After fixing them with a face the color of a beet, Percy decided it best he stay sitting. Evie couldn't have agreed more. Fudge greeted Harry as though they were old friends and Evie raised an eyebrow, thinking she didn't remember Harry and Fudge being on such close terms. Fudge introduced Harry to the Bulgarian Minister, who took quite a bit of time to recognize him. In that space of time Evie had wondered if perhaps Harry wasn't nearly as widely known as living in Britain would lead her to believe. Then the excited understanding began and she quickly banished that thought.

"…ah, and here's Lucius!" Evie caught the tail end of Fudge jabbering on to Harry and her mood immediately dropped.

The four friends turned quickly to see the Malfoys shuffling gracefully down to the three empty seats left in the box. The Malfoys greeted the Minister and then for a tense moment when the Minister pointed out Mr. Weasley, he and Mr. Malfoy just stared at each other. Then Mr. Malfoy spoke.

"Good lord, Arthur," he says softly. "What did you have to sell to get these seats? Certainly your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Fudge apparently missed this entirely, as he next comment was to tell Mr. Weasley that the Malfoys just contributed a large sum of money to St. Mungo's.

"How – how nice." Mr. Weasley commented with a tight smile. Evie could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her.

Mr. Malfoy turned to notice Hermione with a sneer on his face. Evie felt Hermione tense beside her and pressed her shoulder against her friend's for support. They glared at the Malfoys together. Had the Minister not been there, Evie was sure he would have said something about Hermione's heritage. Instead, he nodded with a sneer to Mr. Weasley and continued on. Draco passed next, shot Evie and her friends a contemptuous look and settled himself between his mother and father. Mrs. Malfoy always seemed much more bearable than the two Malfoy men. She kept a cold air about her, and never looked particularly pleased by anything, but she never said ill words towards anyone openly, and prided herself in being a true lady, so she never would.

"Slimy git." Ron muttered before they all turned back to the field.

Then Ludo Bagman entered excitedly and announced the Bulgarian team mascots and the right side of the stands, a solid mass of scarlet, cheered loudly.

"I wonder what they've brought," Mr. Weasley said, leaning forward in his seat. "Ahhh!" He suddenly cried, pulling off his glasses and cleaning them on his robes. "Veela!"

Evie nodded in understanding as Hermione turned to her for an answer.

"What are Veel –" Harry started to ask before he was pulled into the trance of the Veela.

"Veela are semi-human, semi-magical humanoids. They are known for being really beautiful. Their looks and especially their dance are magically seductive to almost all males, and make them do crazy things. That's why Mr. Weasley looked away." Evie explains to Hermione as she pointed to Mr. Weasley, and then to a few of the other men in the booth, including her own father who had realized what they were quickly enough to look away also. "Now look at Harry, Ron, and the others who didn't look away." She directed and she and Hermione watched as the boys leaned closer and closer, stuck in the Veela's trance. Harry put his foot on the wall of the box, as though he might jump to try to reach them. "Watch him; he will jump if they don't end this soon."

The song stopped and the Veela move to the sideline. Hermione grabs Harry who was still standing dazed as he tried to understand what just happened. "Honestly!" She yanked him down to a sitting position finally.

Mr. Weasley had taken Ron's hat from him as Ron had started ripping apart the shamrock on it. Evie was trying very hard to keep herself from laughing. She turned to find even Malfoy had succumbed to the Veela. Mrs. Malfoy was holding him in his seat as he slowly stopped fighting against her and realized what was happening. This caused Evie to break and finally laugh.

Then Ireland's mascots were called out. A great green and gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circle around the stadium and then split into two smaller comets. They flew over to the ends of the field and a rainbow arched through the sky, joining the two comets. They weren't actually comets, of course. They were Leprechauns, each holding a little gold or green lantern. The rainbow faded and the two groups of Leprechauns joined back together and formed a giant shamrock high above the pitch. Then the gold began to rain down. It was bouncing off their heads and in their seats and all over the floor.

Once they were done, Mr. Bagman introduced the two teams and the match finally began. It was brilliant! Just as Evie and Charlie had stated, Bulgaria's Keeper and Chasers were no match for Ireland's players. The only player worth anything on Bulgaria's team was Krum; there could be no doubt about that. He faked out Ireland's Seeker, Lynch with a Wronski Defensive Feint, which was a brilliant tactic, Evie felt because if he found the Snitch first Lynch would second guess it before going after it, giving Krum a better chance of catching it, which as the game continued, it became painfully clear he would have to do.

As Ireland pulled further ahead of Bulgaria, the game got dirtier. Ireland got two fouls and Bulgaria got one. Ireland stayed steadily ahead though. The Leprechauns of Ireland began making rude gestures at Bulgaria's Veela, who lost their cool and launched across the field, throwing balls of fire at the Leprechauns. Evie watched and finally saw what Veela looked like when they got angry, as she had only ever read about them. Their faces became birdlike, with sharp beaks, and they grew scaly wings from their backs. Harry and Ron looked very shocked indeed to see them now.

"And that boys, is why you never go for looks alone." Mr. Weasley called over the roar of the crowd and Evie had to laugh at that one. It was very true, as much as any man would love to have a Veela bride, get her mad and you'd be living with that Harpy-esque creature.

The Veela were sent off the field and suddenly Lynch started diving. "Look!" Evie called excitedly.

"He's seen the Snitch!" Harry was watching exactly where she was and they excitedly got to their feet as they watched Krum, who was bleeding from his nose after Ireland's Beaters sent a Bludger in his direction, was gaining on Lynch as they both barreled towards the ground.

"They're going to crash!" Hermione yelled, horror struck.

"They aren't!" Ron corrected.

"Lynch is!" Harry said over the roar of the crowd, and just as predicted Lynch crashed into the ground again with tremendous force and was immediately trampled by a stampede of angry Veela. Evie looked on in shock.

Where's the Snitch?" Charlie yelled and Evie tore her eyes away from the trampled Lynch to search for Krum.

"He's got it! Krum's got it – it's all over!" Harry shouted in excitement.

Evie found Krum, who was indeed holding up the Snitch in triumph, then her eyes flew to the score board, which read:** Bulgaria: 160 Ireland: 170**. The realization hit her immediately and she joined in the cheers of joy as Ireland fans celebrated the win. Turning to Cedric they both began cheering, jumping and laughing as Bagman announced their team's victory.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman announced loudly across the pitch as fans continued to cheer and yell. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH BUT IRELAND WINS! Good lord, I don't think any of us could've seen this coming!"

"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron wondered.

"He knew they were never going to catch up." Harry explained. "He just wanted to go out on his terms."

"He's very brave, isn't he?" Hermione said leaning over the rails, with her Omnioculars trained on the spot where Krum was refusing to let the Mediwitches mop up the blood still pouring from his nose.

"He's absolutely mad! But he is bloody brilliant too." Evie shook her head in awe, releasing Cedric from her excited embrace and following Hermione's line of sight to the burly Bulgarian.

Behind them the Bulgarian Minister of Magic had just began speaking English to Fudge, who had been under the impression all day that the man could not understand a word he was saying. Fudge was a bit huffy about that new development, but Evie found the Bulgarian Minister to be a rather funny, making Fudge mime all day just for the amusing image it presented.

The Top Box where they sat was suddenly lit up so everyone in the stands could see the two panting wizards bringing the Cup to Fudge. Then the Bulgarian team came up into the box as well. Evie's eyes almost popped out of her head as she tried to contain her excitement at being in such close proximity to the players she had just watched play. Krum was the last to file in and shake the Minister's hand. He was sporting the beginnings of two black eyes and his front was still covered in blood. He was also clumsier on the ground than he was on a broom.

After the Bulgarian team came Ireland, and Evie had to restrain herself as a small squeal bubbled in the back of her throat. When the team walked in Lynch was being supported by Moran, one of the Chasers, and Connolly, the Keeper. Lynch was clearly dazed, but he still enjoyed the moment when Troy, another Chaser, and Quigley, a Beater, lifted the World Cup into the air to the thunderous applause of the crowd.

After it was over the whole group was walking back to the camp grounds in high spirits.

Everyone's energy was too high to sleep, not to mention the amount of noise coming from the others at the campsite made it impossible for them to even think of sleeping. Amos agreed that Evie and Hermione could have one last cup of cocoa with the Weasleys before they had to head back to their tent and sleep. Cedric had run off somewhere with a few friends he'd run into earlier that day and Amos retired to the tent alone.

At the Weasley tent, there was much good natured arguing about the match. They laughed and replayed their favorite moments until Ginny fell asleep right at the table and knocked over her hot chocolate. That's when Mr. Weasley requested they call it a night.

Evie and Hermione waved goodnight to the Weasleys and Harry before heading back towards the Diggory tent. When they got back it seemed both Amos and Cedric had already gone to sleep. They quietly crept to their room and got ready for bed.

They were just settling into bed when Evie sat upright quickly. "Hermione!" She whispered urgently.

"What?" Hermione mumbled as sleep had already started to claim her.

""Hermione, listen!" Evie spoke normally now. Hermione sat up slowly and they listened for a moment. The sounds they heard made Evie's blood run cold. "That's not singing," she whispered.

"We need to go!" Hermione jumped up off of her bunk. Evie followed suit quickly and tossed her shoes on just as Amos burst into their room with Cedric close behind.

"Oh, thank Merlin, you're here! " Amos sighed only slightly reassured. "Yes, quickly, we need to move!" He and Cedric already had their shoes on.

"Dad, what's happening?" Evie asked as she straightened up and she, Hermione, Amos and Cedric rushed out of the tent.

The scene they took in was just as terrifying as the noise. Everyone was running towards the woods in fear. There were hardly any fires still lit, and jeers and laughter flowed eerily through the screams. A sudden burst of green light lit up the scene and Evie saw what everyone was running from. A group of wizards, black hoods covering their masked faces, wands raised to the sky, marched towards them. Above them were four floating figures, their bodies contorted in horrific shapes.

The marching crowd was gaining members, which joined in the jeers and laughter, adding their wands to the group pointed up at the figures. Tents toppled and crumpled as the marching crowd swelled. Every now and then a member of the marching group would blast a tent out of his way, some of which caught fire. The screams continued to grow louder.

Some of the fire illuminated the four figures being floated, and Evie realized it was a family. A slightly older man, his wife and children. The poor woman was flipped upside down and her nightdress fell over her head and she struggled to cover herself.

"This is horrible!" Hermione said in shock. Evie couldn't find words, she just nodded.

"Cedric, get the girls into the woods! Keep them safe," Amos instructed with his wand out and at the ready.

"Where are you going?" Evie asked scared.

"I'm going to help the Ministry. Stay with your brother," Amos ordered, before turning and rushed towards the problem.

"Come on!" Cedric grabbed Evie's hand and began pulling her towards the woods. Evie grabbed onto Hermione and they rushed with the crowd towards the woods. Evie looked back only once, just before they entered the woods. Ministry officials were trying to make their way to the marching crowd, but they also seemed afraid of sending any spells flying, as it might harm the floating family.

All the lanterns that had been in the woods leading people to the World Cup had gone out by this point. People all around them were stumbling their way through the woods. Evie kept getting bumped into. One particularly strong man bumped into and dropped her to the ground. She lost Cedric's hand.

"Cedric!" She called in absolute fear. Hermione had dropped right on top of her because of how closely they had been following each other.

"Evie?" She could hear Cedric call back to her. He sounded like he was being pushed forward by the crowd of terrified people.

"Cedric!" The panic in Evie's voice was evident even to her. She couldn't see anything, and as she and Hermione stood up they both reached for their wands and called a "Lumos." The area around them lit up and all they could see was people rushing past them to get further into the woods and further away from the masked marching men.

"Evie?" She turned as a new voice coming from the left called out to her. "Hermione?" It called.

"I think that's Harry! Come on!" Hermione said quickly, before pulling Evie as they rushed to the left, fighting off the flow of scared people. "Harry?" Hermione called.

"Over here!" His voice was closer now. They ran faster, almost crashing into Harry and Ron in the end.

"Oh, thank Merlin, you're both alright," Evie sighed when she saw them unharmed. "Where's the rest of your family?" Evie noticed there were no other Weasley's with them.

"Dad, Bill, Charlie and Percy went to help the Ministry. We lost Fred, George and Ginny when I tripped over a tree root," Ron explained.

"Where are your dad and Cedric?" Harry asked Evie. She could hear the hint of worry in his voice as he looked back towards the marching wizards.

"Dad went to help the Ministry as well. We've just lost Cedric when some heavy set Wizard crashed into me sending Hermione and me toppling over each other." Evie looked back in the direction they had come from, worried about where Cedric would end up.

"Evie, we'll find him once all of this is over. We have to get away from here now, though." Hermione placed her hand on Evie's shoulder. Evie looked at her best friend, then sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, alright, let's go." The four friends turned to see that there was hardly a soul left around them.


	6. Chapter 6

Ron pulled out his wand too. Harry reached for his only to find he didn't have it.

"Did you leave it in your tent?" Evie asked.

"Did you drop it while you were running?" Hermione offered.

"I don't know." Harry looked uncomfortable.

"We'll find it mate. After all this is over we'll check the woods and the tent for it." Ron said. Harry just nodded.

The group moved forward into the woods, but a rustling noise nearby caused them to jump. Evie and Hermione pointed their wands out though Evie doubted either of them would be able to take the masked men. It was instead the small house-elf Winky, struggling against an invisible force to find a place to hide.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked.

"She probably didn't ask permission to hide." Harry stated.

"You know house-elves really do get a raw deal." Hermione started indignantly. "It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go all the way to the top of the stadium, she was terrified, and –"

"Hermione!" Evie cut her friend off. "I understand your objections and I feel the way Mr. Crouch treats his house-elf is wrong too. But there are masked men setting fires and floating around poor muggle families just outside of these woods. Do you really think now is the time for an indignant tirade?"

Before anyone could respond another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood, as if to punctuate her point.

"Let's just keep moving, shall we?" Ron said, glancing edgily towards the woods.

Evie glanced at her friends as they continued on and wondered if perhaps they should all be worried for Hermione. Sometimes, because of Hermione's prowess in magic Evie found she forgot that her friend was Muggleborn. But now, thinking on what she had said about the floating Muggle family, she wondered if they ought to be worried for Hermione as well. Evie grew up knowing very well that others were not as accepting of Muggleborn of Half blood witches and wizards as her family, or the Weasleys were. If these masked wizards were so bold as to steal a whole family of Muggles from their home and parade them around the biggest magical event of the year, perhaps decade, why shouldn't they try to harm Muggleborns as well? The thought made Evie uncomfortable, and she walked a little quicker as they followed the path deeper into the woods.

As they walked, keeping an eye out for the twins, Ginny and Cedric, they passed by a group of Goblins. They were counting a sack of money and looking completely unperturbed by the havoc down at the campsite.

Not long after that they stumbled into what appeared to be the heart of the woods. They made the decision to stay there, since it was so quiet they would be able to hear anyone coming from a great deal off. Not long after they got there Mr. Bagman stumbled upon them, when they told him what had happened he immediately disapparated off and they were once again alone.

"I hope the others are alright." Evie sighed, thinking of Cedric, hoping he had not backtracked to look for her and Hermione.

"They'll be alright." Ron said.

"Those poor Muggles though." Hermione shook her head. "What if they can't get them down?"

"They will." Harry reassured her.

"I wonder what these people were thinking, attacking tonight with so many Ministry officials around. Mad, isn't it?" Evie thought out loud.

"Exactly! How do they expect to get away with this?" Hermione jumped in as though she had been thinking the same thing. "Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just –"

Hermione and Evie turned quickly to look behind them. Harry and Ron, who had pulled out his miniature Krum figure turned as well. Something was staggering towards their clearing. They stood silently, listening to the staggering footsteps move closer to the clearing. Evie held tighter to her wand. The footsteps never reached the clearing however. They came to a sudden halt somewhere on the other side of the trees.

"Hello?" Harry called.

Harry moved to peer around the tree, but Evie stopped him. When he looked at her confused, she sighed. "You don't know who's out there. What if it's one of them? You want to give them a clear shot at you?"

"If it was one of them, they would've already tried to come at us." Harry brushed her off and peered around the tree.

There was still nothing but silence for a short time. Then, quite suddenly a voice broke through the silence and called out, not in fear or pain, but a spell. "_MORSMORDRE_!"

From the place Harry was searching, something vast, glittering and green shot up towards the sky. Evie grabbed Harry and pulled him back before she realized the spell was aimed for the sky. She let him go and moved farther into the clearing and looked up to follow the spell. What she saw terrified her to the core. A giant skull with a snake coming out of its mouth, the Dark Mark. Throughout the woods, screams of terror filled the night.

"Who's there?" Harry called back towards the person who shot the spell.

"Harry, let's go!" Evie yanked at him again, staring at him and wondering how he could be so stupid.

He turned to look at her, Ron and Hermione, who were in equal states of fear. "What's the matter?" Harry asked looking concerned but completely lost. It was another moment Evie realized how little Harry knew of not just the Wizarding World, but his own past.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned, looking more terrified than Evie had ever seen her. She tugged at Harry with all her might, trying to get him to move.

"Voldemort's –"

"We have to go!" Ron had scooped up his miniature Krum and Harry finally moved with Evie and Hermione to rushed away from the clearing. Before they made it however, twenty odd wizards apparated each with a wand out, ready to battle.

"DUCK!" Harry yelled, and the four of them dropped to the ground.

"_STUPEFY_!" Twenty voices called at once.

The power of the spells made the hairs on the back of Evie's neck stand up. She could see the clearing was being lit red by all the spells. It was the first time since they had entered the woods that she had been able to see the ground clearly. She wished it was still too dark to tell where she was going.

"Stop!" Two voices called out. Evie recognized both.

"Those are our children, stop it!" Mr. Weasley yelled. The spells stopped and Evie heard a very welcomed sound.

"Evie?" Amos called with worry.

"Dad!" Evie shot up as Amos and Mr. Weasley strode quickly over to them.

"Are you all alright?" Mr. Weasley asked with a shaky voice.

Before they could answer a curt voice cut them off. "Out of the way Arthur." It was Mr. Crouch, the man Evie had seen before, but barely met. He led a group of Ministry wizards closing in on them. "Which one of you did it?" He spat at them. "Which one of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"How dare you!" Evie snapped.

"We didn't do that!" Harry said, gesturing to the Mark.

"We didn't do anything!" Ron turned to look at his father indignantly, rubbing is scratched elbow. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" Mr. Crouch shouted, pointing his wand at Ron. His eyes were popping, he looked a bit deranged. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Well, that great detective work would be why you aren't an Auror, wouldn't it?" Evie snapped, stepping up, but Amos held her back.

"Evie." He whispered strictly. One look at her father told Evie it was time she held her tongue and controlled her anger. She shrank back.

"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, "they're just kids. They couldn't have been able to…"

"Where did the Mark come from, you four?" Mr. Weasley turned to ask them.

"Over there." Hermione pointed to where they heard the sound. "There was someone there, we heard him. We tried to find out who it was, then said something…an incantation, and…" She trailed off, looking at the horrible mark still hanging in the sky.

It was only then realized Evie realized her friend was shaking and so was she.

"Oh? Stood over there, did they?" Mr. Crouch looked down his nose at Evie. He clearly didn't believe them. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how this Mark was summoned, missy…" His beady eyes popped out at her.

"We was here, we saw it happen." Evie glared at him.

All of the other Ministry officials seemed to see this as a more likely explanation than Mr. Crouch did. They were sure none of them could've possibly summoned the Mark. All the other officials had their wands raised and pointed in the direction Hermione had indicated.

We're too late," the witch in the woolen dressing gown shook her head. "They'll have disapparated."

"Maybe not." Said Amos. "Our Stunners went right through the trees, there's a chance we got them…" He then squared his shoulders and raised his wand.

"Dad?" Evie questions.

"Evie stay right there with Arthur. I'll be right back." The Amos marched across the clearing and disappeared into the trees. He was gone for a few minutes before they heard him call back. "Yes! We've got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's – but – blimey…"

"You've got someone?" Shouted Mr. Crouch. Evie glared at him for a second and his disbelieving voice, before turning her attention back to the place her father had disappeared. "Who is it?"

When her father reemerged from the trees Evie recognized the tiny, limp figure in his arms as Winky, Mr. Crouch's own house-elf. He set her down at Mr. Crouch's feet, who seemed a bit in shock. Still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"No – but –" He stuttered, and ever though Evie was smart enough to know it couldn't possibly have been the small house-elf who had conjured the Mark in the sky she enjoyed the embarrassment and shock etched across Mr. Crouch's face for all the accusing he had done.

"There's no one else there Mr. Crouch." Amos said as Mr. Crouch had strode around him and back into the woods from where Amos had just come. They listened to him rustle around.

"This doesn't make any sense." Mr. Weasley said.

"Bit embarrassing really." Amos commented. "Barty's own house-elf…"

"Oh, come off it Amos. You don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark is a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."

"Yeah, and she had a wand." Amos said. At this everyone turned to him in shock.

"What?" Mr. Weasley said.

"If nothing else, that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken."

Mr. Crouch returned empty handed, just as Mr. Bagman popped up, stumbling into the clearing, late again. "The Dark Mark…" He stumbled around. "Barty! What's going on?"

"I'm a bit busy Ludo." Mr. Crouch said, barely moving his lips. "Amos, she couldn't have done this, and you know it. She would've needed a wand to start –"

"And she had one." Amos said again. "I found her holding it. If it's alright with you, I'd like to hear what she has to say for herself."

When they revived her, Winky stirred feebly. She looked around confused, shaking with fear. She noticed Amos' feet and followed them to his face. Then, shaking even more, if that were possible, she looked up to the sky. Evie watched the recognition appear on her face as she looked around the crowded clearing wildly and then burst into terrified sobs.

"Elf! I am a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. As you can see, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short time ago." Amos said looking at her. Winky was rocking back and forth, her breaths coming in short and sharp bursts. "You were discovered right beneath it. An explanation please!"

"I is not doing it sir! I is not knowing how!" Winky gasped.

"You were found with a wand in your hand." Amos said, pulling the wand out to show her. Evie knew that wand at once.

"That's mine!" Harry shouted.

"Excuse me?" Amos turned to Harry in shock.

"That's my wand!" Harry repeated. "I dropped it!"

"You dropped it?" Amos looked at Harry in disbelief.

"Yeah, not there though. I noticed I lost it earlier, when we were running through the woods."

"So," Amos turned a hardened face back on the little elf. "You found the wand, eh? And you picked it up and thought you'd have a little fun with it, hmm?"

I is not doing it sir!" Winky sobbed.

"Dad, it wasn't her." Evie called her father's attention.

"She's right. We heard the voice. It was definitely a man." Hermione said, looking very nervous to be speaking in front of all the Ministry officials. She turned to Ron and Harry for more support.

"Yeah, it sounded nothing like Winky's voice." Harry nodded.

"No doubt it was a human voice, not an elf." Ron finished.

"Well, we'll soon find out for sure what happened." Amos touched the tip of his wand to the tip of Harry's. "_Prior Incantato_!" He roared. Evie was beginning to think he was just trying to show off for all the other officials there. But she couldn't help the gasp the fell from her mouth when a miniature version of the Mark burst from the tip of Harry's wand. "_Deletrius_!"

"I think I know what happened here." The witch in the woolen dressing gown spoke up finally. "Whoever preformed the spell, did it with Harry's wand because their own would betray them, were they caught. Then this elf found the wand after they disapparated and was just in time to be stunned by us." She sighed. "They're long gone by now."

"Elf, did you see anyone?" Amos turned to Winky once again.

"I…I is seeing nothing sir." Winky said, still trembling as though she'd been tossed into a freezing lake in the middle of winter.

"Amos, I am fully aware of the ordinary course of action you'd want to take. But I ask you to allow me to deal with her." Mr. Crouch said.

Evie watched her father struggle with the want to deny that suggestion, but she could tell by now that Mr. Crouch was a very high ranking official at the Ministry, at least higher than her father. So when he nodded, she understood.

"You may rest assured that she will be punished."

"M-m-master?" Winky looked up at Mr. Crouch, pleadingly. "M-m-master, p-please…"

Mr. Crouch just looked down at her, not a hint of pity in his eyes. "Winky has behaved in a manner tonight that I would not have believed possible. She has disobeyed me, this means clothes."

"NO!" Winky sobbed. She knelt at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, Master, please! Not clothes! Not clothes!"

"But she was frightened!" Hermione burst out angrily.

"She was struggling against it the whole time!" Evie added, thinking back to the invisible force Winky had been fighting. "She could've died if she had followed your order!"

"She did everything else you asked of her! She saved your seat even though she's terrified of heights. Those men were floating people!" Hermione glared at Mr. Crouch.

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me." Crouch said coldly, glaring between Hermione and Evie. "I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."

There was a nasty silence in the clearing, filled only by the heart wrenching sobs coming from Winky. Mr. Weasley was the one to break it.

"Well, I think I'll take this lot back to the camp grounds, if nobody has any objections. Amos, I'll keep Hermione and Evie with me while you finish up here." Amos nodded. "And, if Harry could have his wand back, I think it's told us all it can."

Her father handed Harry his wand. "Evie, find Ced. Take him with you to the Weasley's tent until I come for you." Evie finally tore her glare from Mr. Crouch and looked at her father. He seemed very weary. She nodded slowly, shooting one more glare at Mr. Crouch before pulling Hermione away from the poor little elf.

They walked back to the campsite without any more problems. A crowd had formed around the edge of the wood and wanted to know what was going on, but Mr. Weasley dismissed them and continued on to the tent. As they neared Charlie popped his head out of the tent.

"Dad, what's going on?" he called through the dark. "Fred, George and Ginny made it back, but –"

"I've got them." Mr. Weasley answered tiredly.

"Are Hermione and Evie with you? Evie's brother –"

"Cedric?" Evie perked up, cutting Charlie off and rushing into the tent. When Cedric saw her, he jumped up from the table and ran to pull her into a tight hug.

"I was so worried." He sighed, pulling her back to look over her.

"I'm fine. I'm just happy you're okay." Evie sighed. After everyone entered the tent, the whole group sat around the table. Evie, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ron and Hermione explained everything that had happened. The group was shocked of course. Then Percy said something about Winky and Hermione lost it on him. The argument went on only a short time though, because Ron still didn't understand the Mark, or why so many were fearful of it.

"Ron, You-Know-Who's followers would put that Mark in the sky when they killed somebody." Mr. Weasley explained. "The terror it inspired…you have no idea, you're too young. Imagine coming home to that over your house…knowing awaited you inside…" Mr. Weasley winced. "Everyone's worst fear…the very worst…"

They all stayed silent for a moment before Bill broke it as he examined the cut on his arm. "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared all the Death Eaters away. We did manage to catch the Roberts before they hit the ground though. They're having their memories modified as we speak."

"What are Death Eaters?" Harry asked.

"That's what they call themselves, his followers." Evie answered, all this talk was making her think of her mother, who would've been alive had it not been for Voldemort and his followers.

Cedric placed his hand over hers and gave a gentle squeeze. He was thinking of their mother too.

"That's probably who the masked men were." Evie shrugged. "What's left of them anyway."

"We can't prove that." Mr. Weasley said.

"It probably was." Bill agreed. Mr. Weasley nodded sadly, he didn't want to say it, but Evie could tell that's what he thought too.

They continued to talk until Amos came for Cedric, Evie and Hermione. Then they said goodnight to the Weasley's and went back to their tent to get some sleep. In their room, Evie and Hermione sat awake for a bit longer.

"Do you get the feeling something big, and possibly terrible is starting?" Evie asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I think you may be right." Hermione answered. Both girls sighed. Evie lay back on her bunk and wondered if this might be the year things really started to change.


	7. Chapter 7

After all the unexpected excitement at the World Cup, when Evie and Hermione got back to the Diggory cottage, all they wanted to was sleep. They dragged their bags into the kitchen and sighed as they sat down.

Amos sighed and looked up at the three teens resting to gain the strength to continue on to their rooms. "I'll have to go into the office today."

"What?" Cedric looked up at him.

"Why? You're on holiday aren't you?" Evie continued.

"Yes, but with all that's happened, an elf got a wand, Mr. Crouch's own elf? Something is wrong here. I'll need to check in and make sure no more magical creatures have gotten ideas and such." Amos rubbed his tired face. "Best not delay, I'll change and then be off."

When he left the kitchen Hermione let out a huff.

"What is it?" Evie sighed.

"I don't like the way your father talks about elves. I don't like the way he talked to Winky in the forest. It's like he sees them as lesser."

"Well of course he does." Cedric looked at Hermione bemused. "He works in a department of the Ministry designed to keep magical creatures 'in their place'." Cedric quoted.

"He's right, Hermione. What did you expect of my father? He grew up in a very traditional household." Evie rubbed her tired eyes and yawned.

"So that makes it right?" Hermione rounded on the siblings.

"Look, I'm not happy with the way Dad handled Winky either, but I also know that all of this has put a lot of stress on him. Seeing that mark, it brought back all sorts of terrible memories for him. You know my mum died at the hand of Death Eaters. How did you expect him to handle a situation like that?" Evie began to get defensive.

Hermione looked at her friend sadly. "You're right, I'm sorry." Hermione sighed. "Oh gosh, I've been very insensitive, haven't I? I didn't even ask you if you were okay." She turned to Evie looking really upset.

"It's alright, that Mark scared you too. Honestly, I never knew my mum, so as much as I want to say it stirred up terrible memories for me, all it did was make me sad. I'll never know her because of them." Evie sighed.

Amos came down soon after and left. Cedric decided to go get some sleep. Just as Evie and Hermione were getting up to do the same, there was a knock on the kitchen door. Evie opened it to find Harry and Ron.

Harry said he needed to tell them something and they all went up to Evie's room. Harry began at once to tell him of his hurting scar and the nightmare he'd had about Voldemort. Hermione and Ron acted exactly as Evie would've expected them too, she, however, just stayed silent the whole conversation. What her friends didn't know was that the moment Harry started talking, her heart had begun racing. Her palms began to sweat, and Evie suddenly found her breathing was a bit labored. She couldn't understand what this meant. She felt guilty, because she couldn't bring herself to speak up about her own pain and the similar nightmare she had, but her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

"Evie?" She snapped back to the conversation at hand to find all three of her friends staring at her.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked.

"You alright? You haven't said anything this whole time." Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking. I wish we knew what all of this meant." She sighed.

"We're all tired, and I think we'd better pick this up later, once we've had a rest and time to think." Hermione suggested. The boys nodded and left. Evie and Hermione saw them out, and as soon as Evie closed the door behind them she turned to look Hermione square in the eyes.

"I need to tell you something, and I need you to remain as logical and as calm as you are able." She said.

"Let's go back up to the room." Hermione answered. Her voice was calm, but her eyes betrayed her. Evie could tell Hermione knew whatever she was about to say could very well be more important than anything she'd ever said before.

Once they were in Evie's room again, both girls sat on the bed and Evie turned to face Hermione. "I had the same dream Harry did."

"What? But that doesn't make any sense. How could you –" Hermione stopped because Evie put her hand up to halt her. "Sorry."

"I don't know how it's possible. I didn't even know we'd had the same dream until he started describing it. I didn't get as clear an image as he did either. I saw flashes of things, not the whole picture. Just bits and pieces of it." Evie shook her head. "But that's not all, my birthmark started hurting the same night in first year that Harry's scar did. It seems like it hurts every time Harry's scar hurts."

"It's like you're both connected somehow." Hermione looked at Evie in awe.

"But that's just it, isn't it? How could Harry and I possibly be connected?"

"What if your birthmark isn't really a birthmark? What if it's a scar?" Hermione suggested suddenly.

"Why would that change anything?"

"Think about it! Your mum was tortured by those Death Eaters right? You said your dad found her barely alive." Evie nodded at this. "And she was pregnant with you at the time. So what if you were also hurt by the torture and that birthmark is actually a scar from what happened to you and your mum?"

Evie stared at Hermione for a moment, then smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, I'm such an idiot! Why did I not think of that? Of course, that's why I was in the hospital for so long after I was born. I feel like such a fool. Dad always called it my birthmark, so I just never thought it could be anything else." Understanding and relief washed over her, as things all started to fall into place. "But, wait. Why would it hurt then? I wasn't attacked by Vold… oh, honestly Hermione, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"It's probably the dark magic that surrounds him. What killed your mum and scarred you was terrible dark magic. Just like what He did to Harry. There's probably an aura of dark magic around Him."

"This still doesn't explain the dream, does it?" Evie sighed.

"No, no it doesn't." Hermione agreed, as though she had forgotten all about the dream.

"It just doesn't make any sense once you add in the dream." Evie sighed in frustration.

"It's like there's something we're missing. One piece of the puzzle that makes it impossible to solve." Hermione sighed, mirroring Evie's frustration.

"We won't figure it out yet, not without more information." Evie thought out loud. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Well, I think we ought to get some sleep for now, we're exhausted."

"Sounds like a good idea." Evie agreed. Hermione got off the bed and headed for the door. A look of determination on her face. It was her thinking face, the face she always wore when she had decided she would, not matter what, figure out the answer to this problem in front of her. "Hey, Hermione?" Evie called her back. "Don't tell Harry and Ron about this. I don't want to say anything until we understand everything."

"Of course." Hermione smiled before heading to the guest room. Evie settled herself into her bed, and sleep came quickly to claim her.

The rest of the summer passed rather quickly. Amos spent loads of time at the Ministry. That reporter Rita Skeeter, the one who wrote all the overly dramatized Daily Prophet articles, was really making life hard for all the Ministry employees. Every article was something new she'd made up. Evie grew a great dislike of the woman, rather quickly. Amos came home late and exhausted every night, and things as the Weasley house were no better. Mr. Weasley and Percy were gone just as much and came home looking just as worn out. The only real difference was that Hermione had seemingly taken up a new passion, defending house-elves. She was very clear on her stance towards them and made herself heard whenever the subject came up.

It wasn't until the night before they were all due to the Hogwarts Express that Evie even bothered to see what her father had gotten her for school that year. She was double checking that she had everything when she noticed something she hadn't before. She immediately went to the one person she figured would be able to help her.

"Come in." Cedric called when she knocked on his door. She opened it to find him sitting on his bed, reading Quidditch Weekly. She plopped herself down at the foot of his bed, resting her back against the foot board.

"Have you looked over your school list?"

"'Course I did. I went with Dad to buy our things, remember?" Cedric looked at her, setting the magazine down on the bed.

"Right, well, why didn't you tell me we needed formal wear this year? Is that normal? Do you always need formal wear from fourth year on?"

"No, it's completely new. And I didn't tell you, because I didn't think it was a big deal. Why do you care?"

"You know what formal wear signifies?"

"An event that is formal?" Cedric shrugged.

"It's a dance of some sort!" Evie glared at him.

"Alight, sure. Why does that matter?"

"I'll step on somebody's toes! I'll make a fool of myself."

"We've gone to Ministry Christmas Galas all our lives and suddenly you're worried about a school dance?" Cedric laughed.

"Of course I am. Ministry events are for families. We go with Dad and hang out with the other people our age that got dragged there by their parents. But a school dance means, I mean, you go in pairs." Evie blushed.

"You mean you bring a date?" Cedric smiled knowingly. "You're nervous you'll embarrass yourself in front of a boy."

"Oh, shut up." Evie scrunched her face.

"Evie, you don't have to be scared."

"That's easy for you to say. Girls will be lining up to be your date. I'm clumsy and awkward; no boy will want to go with me."

"Hey." Cedric said, looking more serious. He moved to sit next to Evie and grabbed her hand, protectively. "You are perfect, and any boy who can't see that is a fool." Evie smiled up at her brother.

"Thanks, Cedric."

"That's what I'm here for. Now go get some rest, we'll be up early for the train." Cedric moved back to his original position and picked his magazine up again.

"Good night." Evie smiled as she made her way back to her room to finish double checking her bag and get some much needed rest.

The next morning Evie came down the stairs to find that breakfast had been made, but her father was nowhere to be seen. Instead on the table was a note. Picking it up Evie read:

_Had to go into the office early. So sorry I won't be able to see you off. Go to the Weasleys, they'll see you get to the train on time. I'll owl tonight to check on you. Love, Dad_

Evie sighed and sat down at the table. She began eating as Hermione, and then Cedric emerged.

"Where's Dad?"

"Had to go into the office early." Evie pointed to the letter still on the table.

"Hmm, alright, we'd better eat and head over to the Weasley's then." Cedric nodded, filling his own plate with food.

"I hope this all blows over soon. They've been running him ragged at the Ministry." Evie commented.

"Well, let's hope there's not really anything to blow over and that Skeeter woman is just making things up as she goes." Cedric added.

"She really is quite annoying isn't she? Making so much trouble where there isn't any need to." Hermione shook her head.

They finished breakfast on a much higher note then Cedric popped through the floo to the Weasleys. Floo was the best option, as it was raining and they had three very heavy trunks in tow. He told them, he thought it was better he go first so they could let the Weasleys know they were on the way and send the bags through. Hermione went after their trunks, and Evie went last, making sure the house was locked up before stepping into the fireplace.

Bill and Charlie accompanied the group to Kings Cross to say goodbye. They took taxis to the station; Evie would have been excited, had it not been for Crookshanks in a very bad mood clawing her, Ron, Harry and Hermione to shreds. By the time they reached the station, Evie was happy to be out of the taxi, and have the ability to put space between her and that crazed cat, even though it was raining harder than it had been before.

Once they reached the platform they hopped on the train to find a compartment and put their things down. Cedric said his goodbyes to the Weasleys and went off to find his friends. Evie, the rest of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione hopped back off the train to say a last goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie.

"I might be seeing you sooner than you think." Charlie said as he hugged Ginny.

"Why?" Fred asked keenly.

"You'll see." Charlie smiled. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it. You know, since its 'top secret information' and all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I was back at Hogwarts this year." Bill stuffed his hands in his pocket wistfully.

"Why?" George repeated Fred's earlier question.

"You're going to have an interesting year." Bill smiled, his eyes twinkled with mischief and Evie could once again see some of Fred and George in him. "I might get some time off to come and see some of it."

"Some of what?" Ron asked, the impatience growing in the three youngest Weasley boys. But just then the train whistled and they had to board again. Mrs. Weasley hugged them all once more then rushed them back onto the train.

Mum, do you know what they're talking about?" Ron asked as they leaned out the window to talk to Mrs. Weasley.

"I suspect you'll know by tonight. It will be exciting; mind you I'm glad they've changed the rules."

"What rules?" All the boys asked together.

"Never mind…behave all of you. You will behave Fred and you George?"She eyed her two trouble making sons.

The train hissed and the pistons began to move.

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred yelled after his mother, Bill and Charlie. Mrs. Weasley just smiled and waved. They got farther and farther away, and before the train had even rounded the corner she, Bill and Charlie had disapparated.


	8. Chapter 8

The trip to Hogwarts was mostly uneventful. Hermione and Evie taught Harry and Ron a bit more about the other Wizarding schools. Several of their fellow Gryffindors stopped in to say hello and relive the World Cup. For that portion Hermione buried her nose in _Standard Book of Spells Grade 4_. Evie joined her for a bit when she saw Hermione was trying to learn a Summoning Spell, but mostly she just tried to assure Neville that even though the World Cup was great, he was lucky to not have been there. That proved particularly hard to do with harry, Ron, and Seamus excitedly recounting everything but the danger end to the night.

The most notable part of the trip, unfortunately, was when Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle stopped by after overhearing Ron tell Neville they had sat in the Top Box at the World Cup. They got the unfortunate news that Malfoy's father had told him about whatever the big event was that year.

"For your information, Malfoy, our fathers could have told us, but we aren't supposed to know yet, are we?" Evie raised an eyebrow at him. "But Slytherins like you never do care to follow the rules; it's why the only thing that keeps your father so high up in the Ministry is money, not actual skill or intelligence. Good thing too, because if you all weren't rich, he'd be poor and stupid."

"My father is one of the most intelligent and capable wizards to ever live!" Malfoy seethed.

"Oh, well I was only guessing based on your performance and since you always fall somewhere _behind_ Hermione and myself, I assumed you'd gotten your lack of intelligence from your father. My mistake." Evie shrugged feigning innocence. The boys in their compartment laughed as Malfoy stormed away, Crabbe and Goyle following behind him.

"Evie, you know you shouldn't be sinking to Malfoy's level." Hermione sighed at her.

"I wasn't…" Evie looked at Hermione. "Okay, maybe I was but I'm not going to just let him insult us like that."

The rest of the trip passed by quickly. They changed into their robes as they got closer, and the rain grew harsher the further north they traveled. When they got off the train, they ran into Hagrid. Evie was glad she wasn't a first year. The rain had not let up even a little and she was glad she wouldn't have to take the trip up to Hogwarts by boat.

In the Entrance Hall of the castle Peeves was throwing water balloons at everyone as they came in. McGonagall came out to yell at him, but he just finished throwing the rest of his balloons and flew off. Peeves never listened to anyone, and he was a real menace when you ran into him if you were running late to class. If fact, Evie found it best to avoid Peeves at all costs, unless accompanied by Fred and George, whom the little Poltergeist seemed to have a deep respect for.

The four friends sat through the Sorting Ceremony, in which all the poor first years where soaking wet. The food arrived and they all sat around eating and talking until Nearly Headless Nick told them that Peeves almost ruined their chance of having a feast at all that night. When Hermione heard that there were house-elves, and they didn't get paid or get sick leave she refused to eat another bite. Evie thought about trying to talk to her friend, but she knew how stubborn and determined Hermione could be and she felt there was really no use. Hermione would probably be eating again soon anyway.

When the feast was finally over Dumbledore rose to speak again. After giving the usual warnings and rules, and additions to Filch's list of forbidden items, a list which was some four hundred or so items long, he said something nobody was expecting. The inter-house Quidditch Cup was cancelled. Evie was shocked, and with peaked curiosity she listened closely over the sounds of outrage from the rest of the Quidditch teams. IT had to have something to do with whatever the big event was.

Just as Dumbledore was about to announce it, the doors to the Great Hall crashed open. Standing in the doorway was a man, with a long staff in one hand and a black cloak covering his body. He lowered his cloak as lightening flashed across the sky and Evie gasped. His hair was grey and unkempt, his face was nearly all scar, to the point where he was even missing a bit of nose. Other than the scars the only remaining discernible feature of his face was a large electric blue eye, which never blinked and never stopped moving. As the man walked a dull clunk filled the hall as everyone had fallen silent to watch his progression to the Heads Table. Once there he held out a hand to Dumbledore and took the only empty seat left.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Dumbledore smiled at he gestured to the man. "Professor Moody."

Instead of the usual round of cheering and applause that met new teachers, only Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped and when they heard how forlorn it sounded, they stopped. Evie was still staring in shock at the man that was devouring a banger. Moody, she knew the name. She imagined anyone whose parents worked at the Ministry knew the name.

"Mad-Eye Moody? The guy your dad was talking about this morning?" Harry turned to Ron.

"Must be." Ron answered still looking at Professor Moody. Evie's eyes went wide as she rounded to her friends when she realized that Harry must be right.

"What happened to his face?" Hermione asked, still in a bit of shock and horror.

"Dunno." Ron answered.

"Really?" Evie looked at all of them in shock.

"What?" Harry looked at her confused.

"Mad-Eye Moody is one of the most famous and best Aurors ever. He's caught more dark wizards that anyone I can think of still alive. I mean, people say he's a bit crazy now, but if anyone was a good pick for Defense, it's him." Evie answered a bit excitedly, turning back to look at the man again. He was pulling a flask out of his travel cloak, taking a swig and then replacing it on his hip. As he fiddled at his hip Evie noticed the reason he was using a staff wasn't just because he was on in years, but because one of his legs was wooden.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and finished announcing the big event Hogwarts would be hosting that year, the Triwizard Tournament. "You're JOKING." Fred shouted out, breaking the tension in the room that had settled upon Moody's arrival. Even Dumbledore chuckled while he assured Fred that he was not, in fact, joking. He almost sidetracked himself with an actual joke, but Professor McGonagall called him back to attention. Then Professor Dumbledore explained exactly what the Triwizard Tournament was.

Evie paid little attention to Dumbledore's explanation. She had heard of the tournament before, and she also distinctly remembered Cedric wishing excitedly they would bring it back so he could compete. Hermione seemed as opposed to the tournament as Evie found herself. Hermione was whispering something about the death toll in Evie's ear, but she was too busy scanning the Hufflepuff table to actually catch Hermione's worries.

Evie couldn't catch sight of her brother and as Dumbledore droned on about safety precautions and an age limit, which was met with outraged fuss, she finally spotted him. Evie watched as Cedric offered Dumbledore his full attention, trying to catch every rule and restriction, as well as how and when students would be able to place their names in the running. Dumbledore never gave that answer though. He told them they'd all just have to wait until October to find out.

When Dumbledore sent them off towards bed Evie excused herself from the group as Fred and George complained about the age restriction. Evie pushed her way through the crowds and rushed over to catch Cedric before her got to the Hufflepuff tunnel.

"You're going to put your name up, aren't you?" She eyed him knowingly.

"You remember the stories! I could bring glory to the school, be a hero. I could bring a thousand Galleons home, that's not a bad way to start off my life, especially if I don't get drafted by a Quidditch team." Cedric reasoned.

"I do remember the stories. You know what I remember about them that you don't seem to? The deaths! They stopped holding the tournament because of the death toll, or did you tune out that part of the history lesson?"

"What are you saying?"

"You know even some of the greatest young witches and wizards died in those tournaments." Evie lamented.

"I haven't been picked as a Champion yet. I haven't put my name in the running. Why are you so worried already?"

"Because I know you will. And I know there will be a good chance you do get picked once you do."

"Really?" Cedric perked up as though the statement was intended as a compliment.

"Cedric, are you even listening to me? This isn't funny."

"I know that. But I also know that you are prone to worrying about things you shouldn't be."

"People have died! How is my worry unreasonable?"

"You could've died every year since you got here! So, you know what? If I get picked as the champion you will finally get to see what it feels like to be your brother." Evie stared after Cedric in shock as he left the Great Hall. Not knowing what else to do she turned and rushed after her friends.

She made it up the stairs just as the group was entering the Gryffindor common room. Evie was out of breath when she climbed through. The familiar common room felt as much like home as the Diggory Cottage. Evie and Hermione separated from the boys and went up to their own dorm room.

In the room, their usually beds sat empty and waiting for them. Lavender and Parvati had already gone to sleep, and all of their usual posters of famous witches and wizards they idolized or found attractive were back on the walls surrounding their beds. The smell of Lavender's perfume was also already thick in the air.

"Bloody hell, if she puts any more on she'll kill us all." Evie waved her hand to air out the area near her bed before pulling on her pajamas and crawling into bed. There was a warming pan between the sheets and she sighed as she reveled in the warmth. Beside her, Hermione was climbing into her own bed. When she felt the warming pan she scoffed and removed it. "You're going to freeze." Evie said, watching her friend.

"I will not rest on the backs of slave labor." Hermione glared as Evie left her pan exactly where it was.

"Hermione, you are my friend and I respect your opinion, but I have a feeling you are going to be sorely disappointed with whatever this endeavor ends up becoming. That's not to say I won't support you, I'll help you in whatever way I can, but I don't think you understand what you are up against." Evie sighed.

"I don't care what I'm up against! I will not let the house elves continue to be treated this way."

"Alright, but we aren't going to get anything done tonight. We'll worry about setting them all free tomorrow." Evie snuggled deeper into the warmth of her blankets.

"'We'? So you'll help me?" Hermione's voice perked up.

"Like I said, you're my friend and I'll support you however I can. Goodnight Hermione." Evie turned over and drifted off to sleep quickly.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning was like any other first morning of the school year. Evie woke up earlier than she'd have liked, dressed quickly in the school robes with the familiar red inner lining and pulled on a pair of knee high grey socks to brace her legs against the cold. The year before Evie had finally let Lavender and Parvati teach her a thing or two about her hair, and this year she had resolved to remove it from the braid she usually wore it in. However, being unprepared to let it just fly wild and free, she pulled it into a high ponytail with the elastic she always kept around her wrist.

At breakfast Hermione was eating again, and Evie wondered if it had anything to do with their talk from the night before. Hermione told the group she was going to think of another way to help the elves, without starving herself. And as they finished up their breakfast they all looked over their schedule for Monday.

"We're outside all morning. At least the rain has stopped." Evie glanced at the ceiling of the Great Hall which didn't reflect any rain, but still showed thick grey clouds in the sky.

"Yeah, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, not bad and then we have Care of Magical Creatures…aw we're with the Slytherins again." Ron complained.

"Double Divinations this afternoon." Harry sulkily told Ron. Evie snorted, wondering why they had kept the class when all Professor Trelawney did was tell Harry he was going to die in many gruesome ways.

"Well, you should've given it up like we did." Hermione said briskly, motioning between herself and Evie. "Then you'd be doing something sensible, like Arithmancy." Evie didn't comment, not entirely sure that she preferred one to the other.

When the owls came, Evie received a letter from her father, as usual. She also noticed that Neville had his usual package of whatever he'd forgotten to pack that year. Over at the Hufflepuff table, Cedric's owl Noel was handing him a letter from their father as well. Evie wondered if it was encouragement to try to be the Champion of Hogwarts.

Evie also noticed Harry did not receive a letter, and it seemed to bother him right up until they reached the greenhouse for their Herbology lesson. That morning Professor Sprout had them popping slugs for the pus inside. It was apparently to help students stop trying to rid themselves of ache, and pimples. Madam Pomfrey seemed in dire need of it, especially after the Hufflepuff girl had tried to curse hers away. Instead she'd lost her nose.

After Herbology, Evie remembered to say goodbye to Hannah Abbot, with whom she was on friendly terms. As they made their way down to Hagrid's hut, Evie was not looking forward to spending the lesson with Slytherin, or whatever creature Hagrid had found for them to learn about. While Evie cared very deeply for Hagrid, he did have a rather unhealthy love of all the most dangerous magical creatures, hence his want of Norbert the dragon in her first year.

When the Slytherins arrived, Hagrid showed them exactly what Evie had feared he would, something deadly and, quite honestly, ugly. Blast-Ended Skwerts, Hagrid called them. They were pale, squishy and slimy looking, and their name hadn't left much to be hopeful about. Evie was very keen to know which end was the blasting end so she could keep very far away from it. They didn't seem to have heads or eyes, for that matter, as they blindly felt around the crates Hagrid had them in. Then there was the stench, which was enough to make Evie want nothing to do with them. But as she watched Hagrid explain with pride that they were newly hatched and the students would be able to raise them and learn about them as they went, she knew she would suck it up for him.

They got through the lesson with the least amount of injuries, only Dean Thomas sustained a burn when his Blast-Ended Skwert's back end exploded, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that they were given their name for a reason. After the lesson, the four friends made their way up to lunch. When they sat down to eat Hermione started stuffing her face so quick, Evie, Ron and Harry all paused to stare at her.

"Erm…Hermione?" Evie called her attention away from the food. When Hermione looked up at her friends Evie almost laughed because she looked so much like Ron with her cheeks full of food.

"Is this your new stand on elf right?" Ron asked. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No." Hermione tried to muster her dignity through her still full mouth. "I just want to get to the library."

"What?" Ron asked in shock. "Hermione it's the first day of classes, we don't even have homework yet."

But Hermione just shrugged, finished her food and waved at them as she rushed off to the library.

Evie, Ron and Harry ate much slowly that Hermione. Well, Evie and Harry did, Ron just barely missed Hermione's time. As they ate Evie looked over at the Hufflepuff table, searching for Cedric. When she found him, she got up smiling at Harry and Ron and she moved away from the table. "I'll see you lot at dinner as well."

She quickly walked over to the Hufflepuff table and got her brother's attention. "What's up?" He said calmly when he saw it was her.

Evie looked at Cedric unsure how to proceed. He was not usually even tempered with her after she upset him. "I just wanted to talk to you." She answered hesitantly.

"Alright." Cedric set his cutlery down and led Evie out of the Great Hall. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Are you still being stubborn and unreasonable?"

"I'm never unreasonable."

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not usually unreasonable." Evie sighed. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"No, you were right. I should really be more mindful of all the worry I put you through. I really don't mean to get myself in those situations."

"I know you're just being a good friend. It's a really admirably trait."

Evie smiled at her brother when he said that.

"Look, I haven't made any decisions as to whether I'm going to try to be the Hogwarts Champion, yet."

"That letter from Dad said he wanted you to though, didn't it?"

"Not in so many words."

"You don't have to. He's never going to stop being proud of you, you know that."

"I know, but what he was saying while we waited for the Portkey really bothered me. He's so proud of me winning against Harry last year, but I didn't deserve it. If Oliver Wood wasn't so gracious we would've had a rematch and I don't think I would've beaten Potter."

"Cedric, you are an amazing Quidditch player. Teams will be lining up around the block to pick you."

"You have to say that, you're my sister."

"No, actually, because I'm your sister I can be completely honest since you'd still have to love me. I'm saying this because it's true. You're really good. You're worthy of the Chudley Cannons."

"Thanks Evie…but I'm still thinking about going for the tournament, and if I do, I'd feel a lot better about it knowing you're behind me."

"You're my brother; I'll support you through anything. Even if I think it's crazy." Evie gave a half smile.

"Good." Cedric smiled just as the bell signifying afternoon lessons sounded. "Alright, I'll see you later." Cedric turned and started outside to whatever his afternoon lessons were.

* * *

Evie started up towards the seventh floor for Arithmancy. Hermione was already in the class when she got there. She went to sit beside Hermione and was surprised to find that she and Hermione were some of a very few Gryffindors in the class, which was mostly Ravenclaws. She was also surprised to find that both Malfoy and Zabini were in the class. Evie had to bite back a groan when she noticed them.

"Oh, great." She whispered as she pulled out her quill and parchment.

"I know, I saw them too. So what you will about them, at least they have enough sense to get out of that fraud's class also." Hermione grumbled.

"Be careful, Hermione. That sounded dangerously close to a compliment, and you know if Malfoy's head gets any bigger he won't fit through the doors anymore." Evie whispered, then both girls laughed.

"Good afternoon, class." Professor Vector called their attention to the front of the class and began the lesson for the day. About half way through the lesson, Evie began to wonder if perhaps she should've chosen Muggle studies instead. Numbers were not a strong suit of hers, and so it was only with Hermione's help that Evie survived the lesson. She didn't struggle as bad as some of the others in the class, but she would not being signing up for Advanced Arithmancy Studies anytime soon.

As they packed up at the end of class, Evie started to tell Hermione about the issue she'd had with Cedric.

"The thing is I told him I'd support him, but I don't really want to. You heard what Dumbledore said about the death toll."

"Yes, I think this whole tournament might be a very bad idea. But things are starting to get bad aren't they? I mean with everything that happened at the World Cup, something is coming." Hermione and Evie descended the stairs, walking towards the Great Hall for dinner.

"I think you're right. D'you think that's why Dumbledore wants to bring back the tournament? He said it was to promote school unity and unite the three schools, which might never meet if not for this."

"That's true; I mean Harry didn't even know there were other schools. We really are closed off from each other."

"Maybe Professor Dumbledore thinks there's something coming too. Maybe he's trying to make sure that we all stand united against whatever it is." Evie bit her lip, musing over the tournament. "I still hate that they couldn't come up with a better way of doing this."

"Me too. I mean, something without a death toll would've been lovely." Evie couldn't help but laugh a bit at that.

"Do you think I'm wrong about Cedric though?"

"No, but I don't think he's wrong either. We do get in all sorts of dangerous situations, and you never even think twice about it…none of us really do, do we? It's got to be hard, being here and knowing all the danger we've gotten into and never being able to do anything to help or stop it. That's why I'm glad my parents haven't the slightest idea what we get up to every year."

"Yeah, I guess I just hadn't thought about it. That's sort of horrible isn't it?"

"Not horrible…just a bit thoughtless." Hermione grimaced as she said that. Evie sighed.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to say that." She shrugged as they spotted Harry and Ron and rushed to catch up to them. "At least this year we won't have to worry about that. This year all my worry will be for Cedric if he puts his name in."

"That'll take all weekend, that will…" Ron was moaning, grumpily.

"Lots of homework?" Hermione made their presence known. "Professor Vector didn't give _us_ any at all!" She chirped.

"Well, bully for Professor Vector." Ron grumbled. Evie grinned at his moodiness.

They had just reached the end of the line of people trying to get dinner when they heard an unpleasant voice call behind them. "Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

They turned to find Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini standing there. All except Zabini looked unnervingly pleased about something.

"What?" Ron snapped.

"Your dad's in the paper Weasley! Listen to this!" Malfoy said loud enough for everyone in the packed entrance hall to hear. Then he proceeded to read an article by none other than Rita Skeeter, herself. She once again mentioned the World Cup incident, then brought up Mr. Weasley, whom she called Arnold. Malfoy paused his reading at that, looking up at Ron. "Imagine them not even getting his name right Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?"

The whole hall was silent now, listening to the entire exchange. Malfoy straightened his paper with a flourish and picked up the story again. Rita Skeeter brings up the Weasley's Ford Angelina incident from two years back, then blames Mr. Weasley for something that seemed to be Moody's fault.

"And there's a picture Weasley! It's your parents, standing in front of your house, if you call that a house. Your mum could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with anger. Evie could feel her own ears growing hot. To insult the Weasley's lack of money was something they were all used to, but taking actual shots as Mrs. Weasley was an insult Evie could not stand for.

Harry grabbed Ron to hold him back. "What did you just say, Malfoy?" Evie almost whispered.

"Evie, don't." Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Get stuffed Malfoy." Harry scuffed, trying to move their group along. "C'mon guys…"

"Oh, yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you Potter?" Malfoy continued. "So tell me, is his mum really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

Harry gripped the back on Ron's robes to stop him from lunging at Malfoy. Evie's fists clinched and for a second she thought about giving him a repeat of the year before. Hermione had punched him so hard she'd broken his nose. Evie wanted to feel that crunch under her own fist, just for a moment. But Ron struggling to get at Malfoy brought her back to her senses. She grabbed a hold of him and helped Harry and Hermione restrain him as Harry turned calmly to Malfoy.

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" said Harry. "That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Does she always have that expression on, or was it just because you were with her?"

Evie's own anger subsided, and she couldn't hold back her grin as Malfoy's face contorted into one of pure anger. His cheeks even got slightly pink.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Then keep your fat mouth shut." Harry turned and Hermione helped him turn Ron away from Malfoy. Evie was just about to turn to follow them when she saw Malfoy whip his wand out and send a curse flying at Harry. She reached for her wand as well, and just as she'd whipped it out, a second bang was heard throughout the hall.

Evie blinked, before her eyes grew wide as she realized what she had just seen. Where Malfoy had once been standing was now a small, shaking albino ferret.

Hermione turned to see Evie with her and out and her eyes traveled back up to meet Evie's incredulously. "I didn't do that." Evie swore, but the amusement on her face was hard to hide.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" A quick thumping sound came from the stairs and the group turned to see that it had been Professor Moody who'd turned Malfoy into the ferret. He still had his wand out and pointed in its direction, though he headed straight for Harry.

The hall was deathly silent was Moody made his way over to their group. "Did he get you?" Moody asked Harry.

"No, missed." Harry answered, looking a bit in shock at the situation.

"You've got good instincts girl, I saw how quickly your wand came out." Moody trained his good eye on Evie.

"T-thanks." Evie smiled hesitantly, stowing her wand back in her pocket, for fear that if another professor should show they might think she'd turned Malfoy into the ferret he was.

"Leave it!" Moody barked, and Evie froze. "Not you – him." Moody jerked his thumb over his shoulder to where Crabbe had just been about to pick up Malfoy. Moody clunked toward the ferret who, in his terror, began racing off towards the dungeons, but Moody caught him. Then he began bouncing him around, telling him to never attack an opponent while his back was turned again. Evie just watched in a mix of joy and horror as Moody bounced Malfoy higher and higher into the air. He didn't stop until Professor McGonagall forced him to handle the situation like all the other professors did. When Moody had gone, dragging a human again Malfoy behind him, the group made their way into the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table.

"Don't talk to me." Ron said as they all sat down.

"Why not?" Hermione asked. Evie looked at Ron in utter shock. How could anyone be mad still after seeing Malfoy like that? Her heart hadn't even been so light.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," Ron sighed as a smile spread across his face and he closed his eyes. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret…"

The group burst out laughing as they all relived the vivid memory.

"He really could've hurt Malfoy, though." Hermione said as she began doling out beef casserole onto all of their plates. "It was good that Professor McGonagall stopped it –"

"Hermione, you're ruining the best moment of my life!" Ron growled, his eyes snapping open and his smile disappearing.

Hermione scuffed, but said nothing else. Instead she began shoveling food into her mouth once again.

"You're going back to the library this evening?" Harry eyed her in confusion.

""Got to," Hermione answered with her mouth full of food. "Loads to do."

Evie raised an eye brow to this, then made a decision.

"But you said Professor Vector –"

"It's not schoolwork." Hermione answered, then began to get up from the table.

"Wait!" Evie stopped her, spooning one last large bite of casserole into her own mouth. "I'll go with you." She said quickly with her mouth full of food. The two girls got up from the table and waved at Harry and Ron as they rushed off towards the library, Evie still chewing her food.


	10. Chapter 10

By Thursday, Evie was just as antsy as all the other Gryffindor fourth years to get into DADA. They had formed a line outside of the classroom before the bell had even rung. She and Hermione made it just in time for class, as they had been in the library.

Two days ago Evie had finally found out what Hermione was so keen on doing in the library:

"_Knitting? Why d'you want to learn how to knit?" Evie raised an eyebrow at Hermione as the latter girl sat a huge pile of books on the table in front of her. Evie picked up the top one in the pile. On the cover was a picture of a pair of knitting needles and the beginnings of what was possibly a scarf. The picture moved, showing the same line being made over and over again._

"_So I can give the elves clothes, so they can free themselves and start demanding pay and sick days!" _

"_Hermione…" Evie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You do understand that, to them, clothes are a punishment, not a reward?"_

"_They're just scared of being abused! If they are given their freedom and realize they can ask for more…that they deserve more, they will be excited to receive clothes." Hermione explained waving off Evie's disbelieving look._

"_I really don't think this is going to go the way you hope it will…" Evie paused and looked at her friend. "Alright, I'll help. Teach me how to knit."_

Since that day they had been spending a lot of their free time in the library learning to knit, finding patterns for things like small hats and socks. Evie still believed no house elf would take Hermione's clothes, but her friend was so passionate about the cause, she felt the best thing she could do was support her.

The group grabbed the seats right in front of the teacher's desk and readily took out the book for the course, _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_. After a few moments of silence Moody came in and instructed them to put their books away. Well, it was more of a bark than anything, but they listened, shocked as they were that they weren't going to be using their books.

Moody checked his list to make sure everyone was in class; his normal eye moved down the list of names, but his blue eye was rolling around in his head, clearly watching everything going on in the classroom. Once the last student had answered, Moody clasped his hands together and told them all that while Professor Lupin had done well teaching them all about magical creatures, they were behind on curses. "I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark –"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out. Evie tensed for him, not sure how Moody would take the interruption. Ron also looked apprehensive as Moody's magic eye swivelled around to stare at him. His response, however, was quite surprising, albeit relieving. Moody smiled, the most gnarled and awkward smile Evie had ever seen, but a smile none-the-less.

"You're Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Apparently Moody owed Mr. Weasley one for getting him out of a tough spot right before the school year started, and the only reason Moody was here was as a favor to Dumbledore. "One year, then back to my quiet retirement." He laughed as though it was a private joke the rest of the class wouldn't get.

After that he jumped right into the lesson, telling the class that while the Ministry didn't want them learning illegal Dark curses, both he and Dumbledore thought they could handle it and so that's exactly what he was going to be showing them in the very first class of the year. "You'll need to be alert and watchful. You'll need to put that away, Miss. Brown, while I'm talking."

Lavender had been showing Parvati her finished horoscope chart under their table. When she heard her name and realized she'd been caught, she jumped and blushed, mumbling a sorry and focusing back on the class. It seemed Moody's magic eye might be able to see through anything, not just the back of his skull. That thought gave Evie the creeps though.

"So…do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

One instantly popped into Evie's head, but she kept her hands firmly clasped in her lap. She watched as both Ron and Hermione raised their hands, along with several other tentative people in the room. Moody called on Ron.

"My dad told me about one." Ron said hesitantly. "The Imperius Curse or something?"

"Your dad would know about that one. It gave the Ministry a lot of trouble a while back." Moody reached into his desk and pulled out a jar with three large, black spiders inside. Ron tensed in his seat. Reaching into the jar, Moody got hold of one of the spiders and pulled it out. Holding it in his palm, so all could see, he pointed his wand at it and muttered, "_Imperio_."

The spider responded instantly, leaping from Moody's hand on a thin silk thread and swinging back and forth. Then, at the coaxing of Moody's wand, it hopped from the thread doing a back flip and landed on the desk. Upon landing it immediately began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand once more and the spider rose to its feet and began what was unmistakably a tap dance. At the sight of it the class began to laugh.

"Think it's funny, do you? What if I did it to you?" The laughter died almost instantly. "I have total control. I could make it jump out the window, or drown itself, or maybe throw itself down one of your throats."

Ron gave an involuntary shudder.

Moody began to explain that a while ago, though he didn't say it was during Voldemort's rise to power Evie knew that's when he meant, there were a lot of people who had that curse used on them. The Ministry apparently had a really hard time figuring out who was acting under the curse and who was acting of their own free will. He then told them that it was possible to fight the curse off, but it was hard to do and required a real strength of character. "Better avoid getting hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He barked and the whole class jumped. Then he replaced the spider and pulled out another one. When he asked if anyone else had another illegal curse Neville raised his hand. Evie imagined the whole class might have been shocked by that. "Yes?" Moody eyed him with the magic eye.

"There's one – the Cruciatus Curse." Neville's voice was small and distant as he answered, and Evie knew he wished he hadn't said it. She wished he hadn't either. She never wanted to see that curse.

"Your name Longbottom?" Neville nodded nervously. Moody made no other comment on it, just turned his attention back to the spider, which he enlarged so the whole class could see the effects of the curse. "_Crucio!_"

Instantly the spider began to feel the effect of the curse. Its legs bent in upon its body. It rolled over and began rocking back and forth, twitching uncontrollably. It made no noise, but it was unmistakable that if it could it would be screaming. The longer Moody kept his wand on the spider, the more uncontrollably it began to jerk and shudder.

"Stop…" Evie whispered, her hands clenched in her lap. Her knuckles where white and her body shaking. She turned to Neville, who was sitting right next to her and whose own body had stiffened. His fists where clenched on the table, with knuckles just as white as her own. He was staring at the scene wide-eyed, with an expression of horror etched on his face. Evie turned back to the spider, still withering and jerking…she almost swore she did hear it scream. "Stop…stop…STOP!" She shut her eyes as she finally found the strength to yell.

Moody moved his wand and the spider's legs instantly relaxed, though it still twitched.

"_Reducio._" He said, returning the spider to its original size and placing it back in the jar. "Pain…" Moody said softly. Evie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep herself together. "You don't need thumbscrews to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse. That one was very popular once."

Evie's bottom lip quivered as she opened her eyes again. She was sure she wasn't going to cry, but the image of the spider withering in pain was forever burned into her mind. That's what they had done to her mother. That's what had weakened her, nearly driven her mad before they finally decided to kill her; almost kill her. Better to leave her for dead, let her die slowly they thought. As though they hadn't done enough to torture her.

Evie looked at Neville again, still frozen in horror at what he had just seen. As Moody asked for another curse she silently reached over and covered his still clenched fist with her own shaky hand. He looked at her as Hermione told Moody the last curse she knew, the Killing Curse, and Evie knew that Neville had suffered the same way she had. There was a reason Neville was raised by his grandmother, and Evie knew in that moment what that reason was.

They turned back to the lesson, but Evie never took her hand off of Neville's. She had a feeling he needed it there. Moody was pulling the last spider out of the jar. It had apparently seen what had happened to the others because it tried desperately to make a run for it. It didn't get far though. Moody raised his wand and roared, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

After a flash of blinding green light the spider rolled over on its back. There was not a mark on it, but there could be no doubt it was dead. Several students stifled cries. Evie distinctly heard Hermione gasp. Ron pushed so far back in his chair he almost tipped it over. But Harry just sat there. Evie was positive even she had at least jumped at the sight of the curse. But Evie also knew that just as she and Neville had been affected most by seeing the Cruciatus Curse, this was the curse that would affect Harry the most. It was the curse that killed his parents, the curse used to try to kill him; it was hard not to be effected by it.

"There is no counter curse, no blocking it. Only one person has ever survived and I'm looking right at him." Evie grimaced for Harry. He hated being looked at as The Boy Who Lived; she had learned that fairly quickly. He looked as though he was deep in thought, far away from everything that was happening in class, and Evie couldn't blame him.

Moody kept talking, but Evie couldn't really follow him. Beside her, Neville was still in a state of shock. On her other side Harry was also lost in his own mind, and Evie found it easy to drift back into her own musings as well. She had just seen a spider go through the same thing her mother had gone through, the same thing that she in essence had gone through…possibly the very thing that had given her the birthmark or scar on her hip. It had been horrible, and the more she thought about it the easier it was to imagine that spider as her mother, withering and jerking in pain. Had she been worried about herself, or worried about Evie? Had she screamed until her voice gave out? She must have, by the look of the spider, which had yet to recover from the curse; she must have been in unimaginable pain, the sort of pain that... Jumping from her thoughts, Evie realized she didn't want to think about her mother anymore.

"CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" That's what Evie came back into focus on, and it once again made her jump. "Now those three curses you just saw are known as The Unforgivable Curses. Use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn you a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all you need _constant, never-ceasing vigilance_. Get out your quill…copy this down…"

To the relief of probably everyone in the class that was what they spent the rest of their time doing. Nobody dared speak until the bell rang and most of the class hurried to pack up their things. As they exited they were talking excitedly, as though they had just witnessed a spectacular show. Evie packed in a daze, slowly but deliberately. Beside her, Neville had packed quickly and disappeared out the door. She didn't realize how slow she was going until Hermione had urged them all to hurry up and get to Neville, who had only managed to make to a small side passage before returning to his trance-like state of shock.

The four friends walked over to Neville hesitantly. "Neville?" Hermione called his attention to them.

"Oh, hello." He said in an unusually high voice. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm – I'm starving."

"Neville, are you alright?" Hermione asked even more cautiously than before.

"I'm fine." His voice was still unnaturally high. "Interesting dinner – I mean lesson. What's for eating?"

Harry and Ron shared a worried look, and Evie just sighed.

Before anyone could say anything else the distinctive clunk of Moody's staff and wooden leg could be heard coming closer to their little group. They all turned to see what was happening. He looked straight at Neville. "It's alright sonny. Why don't you come up to my office? Come on…we can have a cup a tea…"

Neville didn't look particularly excited about that idea. Moody seemed to ignore his fear, and after asking Harry if he was alright and reminding them that they 'needed to know', he started to pull Neville away from the group. When Neville looked back at them pleadingly, Evie had to say something.

"P-professor!" She called, halting their movements. Neville looked relieved, but what he didn't know was that Evie actually hadn't thought of a way to get him out of the tea, so instead she did the only thing she could to make him feel better. "May I come too?" She gulped hard and hated herself for not having anything else to say, but after a once over by Moody, he seemed to decide there was no harm in letting her go too.

After he let out a grunt that sounded vaguely approving, Evie turned to look at her friends with a forced smile. "I can't let Neville go up there alone. I'll see you all later. Meet you in the library?" She directed to Hermione, who nodded. Then Evie rushed to catch up to Neville and Professor Moody.

* * *

The walk to Moody's office was silent. Evie walked close to Neville, as if to give him some of her strength. When they got to the office, Evie realized how different it was from when Professor Lupin was there last year. Instead of all the magical creatures, there were many devices on small tables and on the walls, and against one wall was a long trunk with seven locks on it. Evie didn't know what the trunk was keeping in, but she didn't like that it required seven locks to do so.

"Take a seat." Evie was beginning to learn that Moody's voice was pretty much always gruff. She looked at Neville and then they both sat in the chairs Moody had just conjured up. "Longbottom, I heard from Professor Sprout you have a knack for Herbology, is that right?"

Evie and Neville both looked shocked at the direction the conversation went. Evie watched Moody, with a sense of hesitant curiosity. "A knack? Neville won't admit it himself, but he's probably the best Herbology student in our whole year." Evie answered, looking at Neville and smiling.

A healthy blush formed on Neville's cheeks and he almost started to deny it before Moody cut him off. He handed them both a cup of tea and then reached into his desk and pulled out a book. The cover read, _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean_. A smile slowly formed on Evie's lips as she lifted the cup to her mouth. It was a really nice gift for Moody to give to Neville, and a great way for him to try to cheer Neville up, Evie mused as she almost took a sip of her tea. For some reason she paused before doing so and sniffed the liquid before actually drinking some.

"Sniffing for poison?" Moody eyed her.

"N-no, I –"

"It's alright. That's smart. Like I said in class, constant vigilance. You don't know me, I could be an imposter!" Evie and Neville jumped as Moody yelled the last part of his sentence. Then he seemed to remember something. "Diggory…you were with Potter when Malfoy tried to curse him behind his back. You had the quick reflexes." It wasn't really a question, but Evie nodded anyway. "You've got potential. You remind me of my protégé, girl by the name of Tonks." Moody grunted in approval.

"Th-thank you, Professor." Evie smiled, not sure what exactly that meant as she didn't know anyone named Tonks. She did, however, know that being Moody's protégé meant the woman had to be strong and brilliant, and obviously an Auror.

"Now, I know the Cruciatus Curse was hard, for both of you." Moody looked pointedly at Evie who handled it decidedly better than Neville. It appeared as though Moody knew what had happened to her mother; he was an Auror at the time so it only made sense that he would. "But seeing that wasn't to torture you, it was to show you just how dangerous the other side of the fight is. To show you that they have no remorse and won't be kind enough to wait if you aren't ready for a duel. You need to know what's coming." When he said that Evie felt chills down her spine. What did Moody mean, 'what's coming'?

"Yes, Professor." Evie whispered. Neville just nodded.

"Now, go get some dinner or you'll starve." Moody waved them out of the room and the two left quickly, both grateful to be out of that situation.

"I'm not really feeling hungry, are you?" Evie asked Neville. He shook his head, then looked down at the book in his hands.

"You really think Professor Sprout was saying I'm good at Herbology?"

"Are you kidding? Neville, I've never seen anyone with such a knack for plants. The things you figure out about them astounds me." Evie smiled. Neville smiled back at her, and it killed Evie that she felt the need to ask what she did next. "Neville…?" Evie paused, almost losing her nerve. "What did happen to your parents? I mean, I know you live with your gran, but I never really thought to ask why."

There was a long silence as they continued to walk towards the Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Evie rushed out.

"No, it's alright. It might be kind of nice having someone who knows." Neville smiled, but it was forced. "You-Know-Who had a follower called Bellatrix Lestrange. She was one of his most loyal. My parents were fighting against Him and she and a few others came to our house and used that curse to torture them." Neville struggled through his whole story.

"Neville, I'm so sorry." Evie swallowed the lump in her throat. "They did the same thing to my mum." She added. Neville looked at her as they stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Balderdash." Evie said and the portrait swung open.

They climbed into the common room which was empty since everyone was still at dinner. They sat in the chairs in the corner of the room, by the tall window and farthest from the fire. No one ever really sat in that area, it was usually cold in the winter.

"When she was still pregnant with me, my mum was known as a 'Muggle sympathizer'; she wasn't a flat out fighter because she was pregnant, but she would help Muggleborns and Muggles in the small town near our house if they were looking for a safe place to hide or a warm meal as they fled. I guess some Death Eaters found out, because they came to our house while my dad was out with Cedric and tortured her, and then they cut her up and left her for dead. That's how my dad found her." The tears had entered Evie's eyes quite suddenly and she blinked them away just as quickly.

"They didn't kill my parents." Neville said, his eyes also heavy with unshed tears. "They just tortured them mad…and left them."

"Are they still alive?" Evie asked in horrified shock. Neville nodded. "I am sorry Neville."

"Me too." They stayed silent for a long moment before Evie remembered she had promised Hermione that she'd meet her in the library. Perhaps some knitting would actually help take her mind off things.

"I have to go Neville. I promised Hermione I'd meet her in the library. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yep, I think I'll just go to the dorm and look over this book." Neville gestured to it and then waved Evie off when she hesitated. "I'm okay, really. You're a good friend Evie."

"You're a good person, Neville." Evie responded back before leaving him and making her way towards the library.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **Hey guys, I would just like to start off this chapter with a quick reminded that this is an AU fic, obviously. Cedric never had a little sister in canon and his mother was alive in the books. Anyway, like I said, this is an AU and in it Mrs. Diggory unfortunately did not survive the last Wizarding War. Now, to the story. Enjoy!

* * *

Evie didn't stay as long in the library as she had originally expected to. She had tried to take her mind off of things with Hermione, but it just wasn't helping. After she left though, she also realized that she didn't want to go back to the Gryffindor common rooms. Instead she decided to take a walk.

As she walked aimlessly around the school, Evie bumped into someone. Looking up, she realized that it was none other than Blaise Zabini. He eyed her with a look that was not really disdainful, but was definitely disapproving.

"Diggory." His neatly groomed ebony eyebrow rose elegantly up his forehead. His chestnut skin was, as usual, flawless. Evie wondered for the slightest of seconds whether that was because of genetics or expensive acne creams since his family could certainly afford them. Like most purebloods, Zabini was very well off.

"Look, Zabini, I will take responsibility for bumping into you this one time. I'm sorry, alright? Just save whatever hateful quip you have prepared for another day because I'm really not in the mood for it." Evie rushed out, holding up her hands in surrender and preventing him from saying whatever he had intended to say next.

Zabini's eyes narrowed slightly, though to Evie's surprise, he did not look angry or even annoyed. "You don't seem to be your usual feisty self this evening…"

Evie's eyes widened in shock. A Slytherin was taking notice of her in a not altogether insulting way? And he wasn't just any Slytherin, but Blaise Zabini, best friend of Draco Malfoy, and son of known blood supremacists. To make the situation even more surprising, it seemed as though Zabini had wanted to say something else, possibly ask if she were alright, but stopped himself.

As if coming to his senses, Zabini cleared his throat and straightened himself out. "Glad to see you admitting your fault for once, Diggory. Don't bump into me again." With that, Zabini brushed past her.

Evie stood alone in the corridor for a few minutes, trying to make sense of the confusing encounter. Finally, after deciding that the day as a whole had been too much for her and resolving to spend some time with her brother in the coming weekend, Evie walked back to Gryffindor common rooms with a hurting head and a heavy heart.

Unfortunately, no solace was to be found that day. As soon as she entered the common rooms, Evie saw Ron and Hermione talking quietly together with worried looks on their faces. "What's happened? Where's Harry?" Evie questioned, noticing that the raven haired boy was missing.

"He's finally got a letter from Sirius." Hermione started.

Sighing, Evie walked over to their usual big plush chairs by the fire and settled in to hear everything she had missed while she'd been out walking.

"He's coming back because he says something about signs and Harry's scar hurting might mean something." Ron tried to explain.

"I didn't understand any of that." Evie said, looking at Ron.

"Neither do we." Evie turned to Hermione for help.

"Let me try, Ron." She patted him on the shoulder. "He told Harry that there have been signs, and that Dumbledore pulled Professor Moody out of retirement because he had also been noticing the signs. Then he told Harry that his scar hurting was just the latest of these signs and that he was coming back because of it."

"And now Harry is upset because if Sirius comes back he might get caught." Evie guessed. After receiving nods from both of her friends, Evie sat back in her chair and sighed. Closing her eyes in exhaustion, she wondered when the day would be over. "This has been too much, emotionally, for me today." She mumbled in a barely audible voice, but Hermione and Ron had both heard her. Hermione placed a gentle hand on her knee and Ron just sighed. Both of them knew how much of a toll their Defense lesson had taken on her, no matter how well she hid it.

"Let's get to bed, we've still got classes tomorrow and it's getting late." Hermione said.

Evie opened her eyes and looked out the window; the sky was an inky black. After saying goodnight to Ron, the two girls climbed the stairs to their dorm and got ready for bed. Once they were settled under their blankets and the calm breathing of their other roommates could be heard, Evie dared to tell Hermione about her strange encounter with Zabini.

"That is unusual. Did he say anything else?" Hermione asked after Evie finished telling her the story.

"No…but it seemed almost like he wanted to."

"Well, he is the least talkative of Malfoy's friends. Isn't he like his best friend?"

"I have heard they are quite close, yes." Evie was biting her lip, pondering the weird situation.

"Maybe he's just very observant." Hermione yawned.

"Maybe…I wonder what he wanted to say though."

"Well, whatever it was, just be glad he was kind enough not to. He's still a Slytherin after all; he probably had something horrid prepared."

"If so, that still makes it weird that he would honor my request, doesn't it?"

"Mmmm." Hermione was beginning to fall asleep so Evie let the subject fall.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Evie yawned, finally realizing how tired she was.

"Night…Eve…" Hermione was out before she even finished Evie's name. Evie smiled at her friend. Just before she dozed off she reminded herself to ask if Hermione had told Harry and Ron about S.P.E.W in the morning, having forgotten to do so after the news of Harry's long awaited letter.

* * *

The next morning Evie woke up still feeling tired. Her eyelids were heavy as she dressed for the day. It was because of her hazy brain that she barely remembered, as she pulled up her grey knee highs, to ask Hermione about what progress she'd made with the elfish welfare group. "Hermione?" Evie yawned as she called her friend's attention to her.

"Hmm?" Hermione looked up from putting on her shoes.

"Did you get around telling Harry and Ron about S.P.E.W yesterday?"

"Oh!" Hermione instantly perked up at the mention of it. "Yes, I did! They agreed to be a part of it too, isn't that great?"

"Yeah." Evie smiled, though she was having a hard time believing they were as excited to be members of S.P.E.W as Hermione was making it seem.

"Now all I've got to do is get them to stop calling it _spew_ and we're really in business." Evie couldn't help the laugh that came out at that, but with a glare from Hermione her laugh died quickly.

"Sorry." She grinned, then quickly put on her shoes so they could get down to breakfast.

At breakfast Harry told the group that he had written to Sirius that morning and told him he'd probably just imagined his scar hurting and that there was no need for him to come back. When he turned to Evie to fill her in she assured him that Ron and Hermione had already done so.

"That was a lie Harry." Hermione fussed, making it clear that she did not agree with him telling Sirius that his scar hadn't really hurt.

"Hermione's right. Aren't you the least bit curious about why your scar hurt? Maybe Sirius has some answers." Evie reasoned.

"Well, I don't want them if it means he risks going back to Azkaban." Harry stated with finality.

Hermione started to say something else but Ron stopped her, and for once, she listened to him.

They spent the rest of breakfast in relative silence. Evie finished her food early and went to catch her brother before he started off to his first class.

"Hey." He greeted her, looking as though he were trying to gauge her emotional state.

"Hey…why are you looking at me like that?" Evie raised an eyebrow at Cedric.

"You weren't at dinner last night and Ron told me you guys had your first Defense class yesterday."

"So you've already had your class then?"

"Yeah, it was very intense. I didn't know your class was yesterday. I was planning on warning you this morning…" Cedric trailed off.

"That's alright. Are you busy this weekend?"

"Just hanging out with the mates as usual, but I can always make time for my favorite little sister." Cedric smiled jokingly.

"You mean your only little sister? Unless there's another one running around here I should be worried about?"

Cedric laughed. "No, you're my one and only. But that doesn't mean you can't also be my favorite."

"Keep talking, you're doing a really good job of making me feel better."

"That was the aim. So, are you coming to see me tomorrow or Sunday?"

"Sunday, I think."

"Alright, good. I have plans on Saturday."

"Well, now I sort of want to change my answer to Saturday just to make you cancel them." Evie grinned.

"Please don't." The hint of seriousness in Cedric's voice gave Evie pause.

"Wait…does this have anything to do with a certain Ravenclaw?" Evie asked eagerly. Cedric didn't respond, but a healthy blush formed on his cheeks. "Oh Merlin, I'm right, aren't I?" Evie's own worries and confusion disappeared at the new information she received.

"Shut it!" Cedric shushed quickly, the blush never leaving his cheeks. "You're going to get the whole Hufflepuff table looking this way."

"So, are you snogging her? Wait, never mind, please don't answer that." Evie scrunched her nose and tried to wipe the mental image away. "Are you together? Or are you still waiting to ask her? Did you give her the gift?" Evie spewed out all of her questions quickly.

"Not snogging her and you shouldn't be asking anyone that question." Cedric chastised. "We aren't together, yet. That's what Saturday is for. I'm taking her on a picnic by the lake; I'm going to give her the necklace then and ask her."

"Aw, Cedric, you are just a hopeless romantic." Evie cooed teasingly, but after a glare from Cedric she turned serious. "I'm sure she'll love it."

Before Cedric could say anything else, the bell rang to signal it was time to get to class.

"See you Sunday." Cedric smiled and rushed off towards class.

Evie looked back towards the Gryffindor table to see her friends waiting for her. They had History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs that morning. She rushed over to them, taking her bag from Harry who had picked it up for her. Then they all rushed off towards their classroom.

* * *

Evie walked into class feeling quite a bit better than she had the day before. If she were being honest with herself, she was really happy to be in a class where she was confident she would do well. While History wasn't her favorite subject, and unfortunately Professor Binns was dreadfully boring to listen to, as long as she read up on everything she did just fine in the class.

However, she also had Charms that day, and Charms had been one of her two best subjects since her first year. The other being Tranfigurations, and while Evie wasn't particularly bad in many other subjects, except perhaps Divinations and her current struggle in Arithmancy, she was not the top preforming student in every subject. She usually ended up behind Hermione, or even Malfoy, depending on the subject, and in Herbology she was behind Neville and quite a few Hufflepuffs, who had a tendency to be fond of the class. Evie assumed it was because of all the fascinating plants Professor Sprout decorated the Hufflepuff common rooms with.

Sitting in her usual seat, Evie tried to pay attention as Professor Binns continued their lesson on the Goblin Rebellion. As the time ticked by, seemingly slower and slower by the minute, Evie tried her hardest to stay as focused on the lesson as Hermione was. But beside her Harry and Ron seemed to be dosing off and while she could never bring herself to sleep in class, the idea of a nice daydream seemed much more appealing than listening to Binns.

Letting her mind wander, Evie found herself once again pondering on her curious encounter with Zabini. She would see him in Potions later, as Gryffindor was always stuck with Slytherin in Potions, though Evie never understood why. She wondered if he would be his normal self again, if perhaps their encounter was just because nobody else was around. She also wondered why she cared to figure it out so much, though that answer came to her quickly in all its obviousness; she liked having answers to questions, and Zabini had just become a huge question she very much wanted an answer to.

"Evie." Hermione's voice snapped her back to attention. When she looked at her best friend she realized she was about to be scolded. "Honestly, you're just as bad as the boys. How could you drift off with such a fascinating lesson going on?"

"Because Professor Binns has possibly the most boring voice ever created. He is the most boring ghost in this entire castle." Evie looked at Hermione matter-of-factly. When she didn't get a laugh, Evie tried a different approach. "I'll read over everything I missed after classes, alright? I just got distracted thinking about everything that happened yesterday."

At that Hermione stopped scolding her. Evie felt a little bad for using her bad day to get a free pass from Hermione, especially since she knew that all of the scolding she received from her best friend was really for her own good; however, she also hated be scolded, so she didn't feel nearly as bad as she probably should have.


	12. Chapter 12

In Charms, Evie paid much more attention than she had in History. They were continuing their lesson on Summoning Charms that day; Professor Flitwick had been impressed with how quickly Evie had picked it up in the last class. Some of the students were still trying to summon their cushions while Flitwick had the students who'd gotten it last class summon cushions from farther and farther away. More than anything, he wanted the class to summon them and be able to catch them. Some people were summoning cushions and accidentally sending them flying towards the walls or at each other. Just last class Neville had hit Parvati in the back of the head with his.

Evie and Hermione were a part of the group of students trying to summon with more accuracy and control. Once they got it down from a certain distance, they would back up and try again. Once Evie had managed the summoning Charm the first time, she had found that accuracy and control came easily. Hermione followed behind her fairly quickly. As such, during their current class, they ended up spending most of their time trying to help Harry and Ron get the accuracy and control part down.

"Let's try one more time, Harry." Evie tried to keep her cool as yet again Harry hit her in the face with his cushion, instead of summoning it to his hand. She knew she was being ridiculous, but it had started to feel like he was doing it on purpose. Evie had to remind herself that Charms did not come as easily to everyone else as it did to her.

"Sorry, are you sure you want to keep standing there?" Harry asked, taking his cushion from her again. Evie could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh at her as her hair slowly started to free itself from her ponytail and her face began to turn pink in frustration.

"Are you doing this on purpose, Harry?" Evie glared.

"No! I swear I'm not…but you do look really funny like that." Harry started to fail in his attempt not to laugh.

Glaring at him still, Evie sent her own cushion flying at Harry's face. It hit him square in the head with a dull thud, and at the shocked look on his face she broke into a fit of giggles. "You're right, that is a rather funny face."

After getting over the shock of being hit, Harry started to laugh as well. It was his first smile all day. Then, still laughing, he bonked Evie on the head with the cushion still in his hands. Evie grabbed her cushion off the floor, her laughter growing. She hit Harry again.

Hermione and Ron, who were standing nearby, stopped what they were doing and watched the suede pillow fight begin. Evie and Harry's laughter was infectious and soon all four friends were laughing. Harry had just lifted his cushion to hit Evie again when a voice cut through their laughter.

"What is going on here?" Professor Flitwick walked over with his hands on his hips.

"Sorry Professor." Evie and Harry both mumbled, trying to stop smiling. Hermione and Ron had quickly stopped laughing and gone back to work, as though they had never stopped.

"Get back to the lesson." Professor Flitwick sighed, before moving back to help Neville. He had never been very good at punishing his students; he always just sort of brushed it off as long as they seemed remorseful when he fussed.

Evie and her friends shared one more laugh before they got back to their lesson. By the end of the class Harry had stopped hitting Evie in the face with his cushion, and she was very grateful for it.

After Charms the friends walked down to lunch, which passed rather uneventfully. Evie and Hermione left the boys early again to head to the library. Ron rolled his eyes knowing that they were going to work on Hermione's plans for S.P.E.W. Harry offered a half-hearted good luck and they were gone.

In the library it was fairly empty, as usual. Hermione and Evie sat at their table in the back after gathering their books. Evie was still working on knitting, while Hermione had begun dreaming bigger. She was deep in a book on the Wizarding legal system, trying to learn how to turn S.P.E.W into an actual movement.

Evie found that, while she was quite bad at it, she enjoyed the knitting. It was surprisingly calming and peaceful. It was why she also loved the library. She was still struggling to keep her scarves from ending up crooked though. Despite that spending time with her best friend, away from any danger or drama, was how Evie imagined Lavender and Parvati spent their years.

As her mind wandered to all the abnormal things that she and her friends seemed to deal with every year, Evie's hand moved towards her mark unconsciously.

"What's wrong? Did it hurt again?" Hermione set her book down, looking worriedly at Evie.

"What?" Evie asked dazed, then realizing where her hand was she sighed. "Oh, no. I was just thinking about all the things we have to deal with every year. I was wondering if maybe this year might actually be-"

"Normal? Like, maybe we'll actually spend one year the way everyone else does?" Hermione smiled.

"Yeah."

"It does seem like we might, doesn't it?" Hermione chuckled. "Why is that weird?"

"Because we haven't had a year where we aren't trying to save the world, save the school, or save ourselves yet." Evie chuckled as well.

"How did our lives end up like this?"

"We became best friends with Harry and Ron. If I recall, first year was surprisingly calm before that."

"Maybe a bit boring?"

"Yes, that troll did spice up the whole year, didn't it?" The two girls let the quiet giggles trickle into nothing but soft smiles.

"Do you ever think that we could've just thanked them and left it at that?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"What, like not been their friends, just thanked them for saving us and walked away?" Hermione nodded. Evie paused, realizing she had never even thought of it. "No, I never have."

"Yeah, me either. I don't think I could imagine our lives without those two."

"It feels wrong to even think about it, really." Evie scrunched her nose at the thought.

"Yeah it does." Hermione looked off for a moment before the clock caught her eye. "Oh, Merlin, we've got to get going."

Evie followed her eyes and, seeing the time for herself, rushed to pack her things back in her bag. "Bugger all, if we're late Snape will have our heads."

The two girls rushed as much as they could without running and getting yelled at by Madam Pince. Once outside of the library, they ran for the dungeons.

They made it, luckily, before Professor Snape. Panting slightly, Evie and Hermione found their seats in front of Harry and Ron. Looking around the room, Evie caught sight of Zabini, who was sitting next to Malfoy, as usual. He seemed to be his normal self, that is, what she actually knew of his normal self. Zabini and Malfoy seemed to be in the middle of a deep conversation, but as it ended and the two boys started to look up, Evie quickly turned back to the front of the class where Professor Snape had just appeared.

"Today you will be attempting to make a Sleeping Draught. It is a simple potion to brew for any skilled potion maker, but as I see very few in this room I expect it to be a struggle for you all. Does anybody know what makes the Sleeping Draught different from the Draught of the Living Dead?"

Hermione's hand shot up.

"Oh, surprise, surprise, Miss. Granger is as eager as ever to prove her intelligence." Snape drawled in his usual monotone. Hermione blushed, but kept her hand up. She was determined to be called on. Snape very rarely ever gave her the satisfaction. "Miss. Diggory?"

Evie sighed, knowing Snape was hoping she wouldn't have the slightest idea. She however, knew something he didn't, and that was that she and Hermione had made that very potion two years previous in order to knock out a few Slytherins and enter the Slytherin common room, so she could prove to Harry and Ron that Malfoy wasn't the one opening the Chamber of Secrets. It had cost her a few very uncomfortable minutes as Pansy Parkinson, but she had had the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so' afterwards. However, she was still not sure if that had been an even trade off.

"Not unlike Draught of the Living Dead, the standard Sleeping Draught causes the taker to fall into an almost instantaneous deep, but temporary, sleep. However, Draught of the Living Dead last longer, is more powerful, and is more difficult to make." Evie answered, very contented with the slightly annoyed look on Snape's face as he realized he'd not be able to make a fool of her.

"Congratulations, you can quote a book." Somehow Snape always managed to take the wind out of her sails. Evie's ears turned slightly pink as she heard the hardly muffled snickers from the Slytherin side of the room. "Let's see how you do when you actually have to brew the potion." Snape waved his wand and their instructions appeared on the chalk board. "Begin, and try not to blow anything up Mr. Finnigan." Snape eyed Seamus warily.

Hermione started jotting down the instructions as Evie went to gather the ingredients. On her way, she heard Seamus mumble something about not having blown anything up since second year. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder she smiled. "It's alright Seamus; you know he just likes to make us feel bad. Your only fault is being in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, and that's not a bad fault in my book."

"Thanks, Evie." Seamus smiled, grabbing his ingredients and heading back over to his table.

Hermione and Evie worked together quickly and efficiently for the rest of class, sometimes pausing to save Neville from a mistake. They had learned after he and Seamus exploded a cauldron in first year that it was better to keep an eye on him. Neville's main problem wasn't that he was inept at Potions; it was that he was positively terrified of Professor Snape and that fear and shakiness often caused him to dump more ingredients than necessary into his cauldrons.

Throughout the entire lesson, Evie did her best not to ponder about the boy sitting several seats behind her. He and Malfoy worked in their usual relative silence, something that, until that very moment, Evie had not known she'd bothered to notice.

Harry and Ron always talked in hushed nervous voices as they tried to get their potion right, often times tapping on the shoulders of Evie and Hermione for assistance. Neville could always be heard taking shaky breaths and gulping loudly as he tried to calm his nerves, and Lavender and Parvati were their absolute quietest in Potions. It was the only class they dared not gossip in; they held news in until the bell signaled the end of class, then they would burst with interesting tidbits for each other, often speaking over one another, as they gathered their bags and walked towards dinner. Evie had never understood how the two actually understood what the other was saying when they spoke like that, but, that's what friends were like. These were all things she noticed, and it was okay. But noticing how Malfoy and Zabini behaved during Potions was not.

The class dragged on mercilessly. Evie always hated having Double Potions, especially on a Friday when the weekend was so near and all that was standing in her way was her least favorite professor and his painfully monotonous drawl, and his sneering face, and his hooked nose which allowed him to always look down it at you as he belittled you.

As the time finally wound to a close, the heat from all the fires in the usually cold dungeons was causing the students to sweat. Evie was happy she had pre-emptively removed her robes and was only in her blouse and sweater vest. Rerolling her sleeves for the third time, Evie looked to Hermione for the next instruction, though she was pretty sure they were done.

"That's it. We should have done it perfectly." Hermione smiled.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Miss. Granger." Snape had walked by just as she said that. He then leaned over their cauldron, checking the color, smell, and thickness of their Sleeping Draught. "Well, it seems you do have the most elementary of potion brewing skills, congratulations." Snape said sarcastically, before receiving their vial and waving his wand to clear the cauldron. He then continued down the rows, critiquing every potion in turn.

Once class was finally over, the group rushed out of the dungeons and towards the Great Hall. Dinner was normal, except that for once Evie and Hermione didn't rush through their meals to head to the library. The four friends all ate together at their normal paces and then went up to the common room.

* * *

On Saturday morning Evie woke up the way she liked, without an alarm clock or Hermione forcing her to get ready for class. She sat up in bed and stretched and wasn't the least bit surprised to see Hermione's bed already empty.

Evie dressed leisurely, pulling jeans and a purple jumper on slowly, as stray yawns escaped her mouth. Then, placing her wand in her pocket, she grabbed a pair of thick socks and left the room, where Parvati and Lavender were still sleeping peacefully.

In the common room, Hermione was sitting by the fire place with a book in her lap and her legs pulled under her. Evie walked over and plopped herself onto the couch next to Hermione's occupied maroon armchair. "Good morning."

"Hey." Hermione looked up from her book.

"Have you been down to breakfast yet?"

"No, I thought I'd wait for you lot to wake up."

"Hmm, well it'll be over in an hour. We might need to send someone up to wake Harry and Ron." Hermione checked her watch and nodded.

"We could just go without them and bring them something back."

"That would probably be easier. What're you reading?"

Hermione closed her book, leaving her finger on the page so she didn't lose it, and tilted it up so that Evie could read the cover. It was another book by a Muggle author Evie hadn't heard of. "I sort of expected it to be something for class." Evie smiled at Hermione. Hermione chuckled lightly back.

"Should we head to breakfast then?" She glanced at her watch again before saving her place in the book and closing it.

"I suppose so." Evie stood from her now warm spot, sad when she felt the heat leave her legs and bottom. She stretched and then looked down at her feet. "Think we should probably grab some shoes?" She smiled as Hermione looked down at her, also shoeless, feet. With a nod the two girls rushed up the stairs to get their shoes. After they were finished they walked back down into the common room to find Harry and Ron had entered it in the short space of time that they had been gone.

"Did you two actually sleep longer than we did?" Ron asked in shock.

"Actually, we were just about to give up on you two and go down to breakfast. We were just grabbing our shoes." Hermione explained.

The two boys nodded and then the small group walked down to breakfast together.

The Great Hall was nearly empty by the time they got there so breakfast was a quiet affair. They talked causally about what they might do that day and Ron praised the end of their first week.

"It's only been a week, Ron. How do you expect to survive the rest of the year if the first week is so hard for you?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"With you, of course." Ron smiled, wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulder and causing a light blush to spread across her cheeks. Evie grinned at this, but decided to remain quite for the moment.

"What do you mean by 'with you'?" Hermione eyed Ron, preparing to chastise whatever he was about to say, and at the same time removing his arm from her shoulders.

"Well…I just meant…" Ron paused and looked past Hermione to see both Harry and Evie shaking their heads at him in warning. Whatever he was about to say was surely going to get him into trouble and they were trying their hardest to help him avoid it. "…maybe you could help me study…?"

Evie and Harry sighed. Hermione looked at Ron skeptically before turning to see what Evie and Harry were doing behind her. They turned quickly back to their food as though they hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention.

"I'm really glad to see you actually making the decision to study instead of just trying to copy me, Ron. I'd be glad to set up a study schedule for you." Hermione smiled at Ron, though Evie was almost positive by the tone in her voice that she knew that had not been what he had intended to say. She was also pretty sure Hermione knew that she and Harry had stopped him from saying it. But Hermione would take these little victories where she could get them, and use them to her advantage as well. She would probably later use Ron's own words against him if he tried to take the easy way out.

After breakfast the four made their way back up to the common room. It was practically empty as it was such a nice autumn day and many of the students knew they probably wouldn't get another as nice before the bitter chill of winter set in.

From the window, even high in the tower, the distant sounds of laughter and conversation could be heard. Evie and Hermione settled themselves in the same spots they had occupied before they'd gone to breakfast. Hermione began reading her book again, and Evie began writing a letter to her father, who had sent her an owl that morning.

Beside Evie sat Harry, and on the other armchair next to the other end of the couch sat Ron. The two of them were in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap, using the small table that usually housed the chess board. Every so often, the sounds of small victories and defeats could be heard from either boy's mouth, and it was always following a small popping sound.

After Evie finished her letter, she grabbed her history book to do the reading she'd told Hermione she would. There was still a little bubble of guilt in her stomach after pretending to still be upset when Hermione had started to scold her the other day. But reading up on the Goblin Rebellions was both more interesting than listening to Professor Binns and helping to rid her of the guilt bubble.

By the time Evie had come back from grabbing her book, Harry and Ron had ended their game. Harry was leaning back on the couch with his feet on the small table, engrossed in the Daily Prophet. Ron had retrieved his miniature Krum and was playing with it on the part of the table not occupied by Harry's feet. Evie took her previous position on the couch, but instead of leaning over the other small table in the common room, she too leaned back into the couch, sitting with her legs crossed and her book in her lap. As she went to lean over the book her hair fell into her face, blocking the view, and Evie was forced to pull it up into a messy bun.

There the quartet stayed; content to just be in each other's company. Hermione remained fixated on her book, snuggled into the chair with her legs tucked under her and Crookshanks taking up one of the arm rests. Evie sat hunched over her book, absentmindedly twirling her wand in her right hand. Harry sat leaned so close to Evie she could feel his shoulder move every time he went to change the page of the Prophet. Slowly though, he began to doze; his head dropping to lean against her arm. Ron continued to play with the Krum miniature until Harry dozed, and then he took the Prophet from Harry's lax hands and began to read through it. Every so often someone who came into the common room would say hello to the group, but for the most part they were the only ones to occupy the room. It was a very relaxing day.

* * *

Sunday morning saw Evie up around ten. As she was waking so was Hermione, for whom ten was sleeping in. They showered and dressed and were out of the room before Parvati and Lavender, as usual.

In the common room they separated. Hermione stayed behind to wait for Harry and Ron to wake up and Evie went down to get breakfast so she could head to the Hufflepuff common room as early as possible.

On her way to the Great Hall Evie bumped into Ginny. "Hey Gin, you're up early."

"Oh yeah, I'm going to meet my friend Luna in the library after breakfast."

"Oh? Got some studying to do?" Evie raised an eyebrow. "Luna…she isn't a Gryffindor is she? I don't know a Luna."

"Oh no, she's a Ravenclaw. Some people find her a bit weird, they call her Loony."

"Oh! She's the one who wears the radish earring and the necklace made of bottle caps!" Evie said excitedly as her memory allowed her to picture the dreamy eyed blonde she'd seen wandering the halls and doing an exceptional job of ignoring all the insults being thrown at her.

"Yep, that's Luna." Ginny giggled. "You've probably seen her around at home as well."

"Oh, Lovegood! I didn't realize she was the same girl. Her dad owns the, um…The Quibbler." Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, he sends her a copy every morning."

"Have you read it?"

"A bit…"

"And? What do you think of it?"

"It's…interesting. They talk about a lot of things that most people don't actually believe in."

"Yes, I've noticed that too. Though, who are we to say those things don't exist, hmm? I mean as far as Muggles know magic is just pretend." Evie laughed.

"Yeah, I never thought of it like that." Ginny smiled, a look of realization transforming her features.

"So, how are classes going?"

"Good, I mean Professor Moody is intense and he makes me a bit uncomfortable sometimes. But I think I'd still take him over Snape. You should hear Fred and George talk about him though. I think they sort of idolize him."

"Yeah, I think they might too. He does leave quite the impression on you. I'm just hoping he softens up a bit as the year goes on."

As the two girls entered the Great Hall, they bumped into Fred and George, who were leaving.

"Ladies." Fred bowed jokingly.

"Why are you two always up so early, even on weekends?" Evie raised a knowing eyebrow at the twins.

"We have a whole day ahead of us. Why would we waste it sleeping in?" George looked at her in shock.

"A whole day full of what sort of mischief?" Ginny smiled.

"We take offense to that!" Fred feigned indignation. "We don't get into mischief."

"Oh really, because I seem to recall having green hair this summer because of you two. Not to mention the first day we ever met, you used me to keep you from getting in trouble for turning Mrs. Norris blue. So, you can play indignant all you want, but I think your sister and I know you a little better than that."

"Fair enough." George smirked with a sort of proud twinkle in his eye. "Turning Mrs. Norris blue might still be some of our best work." He turned to Fred, who nodded.

"It's been years since we did that. We might be losing our touch Georgie!" Both boys looked at each other horrified.

"Thanks for the pep talk Evie. We've got work to do. Come on Fred." Each twin pecked one of the two girls on the head and then they both dashed off.

"I hadn't intended that to be a pep talk." Evie looked at Ginny as they sat down to eat.

"Yeah, but you've got to admit, you're a bit excited to see what they end up doing."

"Always, but don't ever tell them or Hermione that." Evie paused spooning food on to her plate to look pointedly at Ginny, who smiled.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Ginny answered, as they both dug in to their food.

After breakfast, Evie and Ginny parted ways. Ginny started towards the stairs and Evie started towards the kitchens. Just before she reached the kitchens Evie nearly crashed into someone. "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry." She apologized, looking up to see the person she'd bumped.

"No, it's my fault." A familiar voice answered back lightly.

"Good morning, Cho." Evie smiled, shocked to see her near the kitchens so early.

"Oh, hello Evie!" Cho smiled brightly. "How are you?"

"Good, just going to see Cedric." Evie looked Cho over, noticing a small sliver swan necklace around her neck for the first time.

"Yeah, I know." Cho said lightly before realizing the implications of that statement and blushing a deep pink. "Oh, I wasn't – I mean, we didn't…um…" Her cheeks continued to grow deeper shades of pink, heading towards a fuchsia as she tried to explain herself.

"That's a lovely necklace." Evie tried to keep herself from laughing as she saved Cho from trying to explain any further.

"Oh, thank you." Cho looked down as though just remembering it was there. Then she held it up between her thumb and forefinger and the delicate chain which held it caught the light coming in from the windows. "Cedric gave it to me yesterday." She smiled brightly. "We're…a couple now, him and I."

Evie could tell by the look on Cho's face it wasn't a statement so much as it was her asking for approval. Something about the fact that Cho felt the need to ask for her approval made Evie feel special. "Finally." Evie sighed. "It took him long enough to ask you." She laughed airily, indicating her acceptance of the relationship.

Cho seemed to relax as she heard this response, as she laughed lightly as well. "Anyway, I just came to see him this morning, perhaps a bit too excitedly," She blushed again, but it was a much softer shade of pink that stained her cheeks. "I'd completely forgotten he told me he was spending time with you today. He's awake, and should be waiting for you. I'll see you later." Cho waved as she walked back towards the rest of the castle.

"Bye." Evie called after her, waving as well, even though Cho couldn't see it. Then she turned back towards her destination and found Cedric waiting for her by the Hufflepuff entrance. "What are you doing out here?" She said.

"Good morning to you too." Cedric smiled teasingly. "I just told Cho we were spending the day together and heard your voice as you were heading this way, so I thought I'd just wait for you to get here. It took you long enough." He eyed her suspiciously, but didn't actually ask why she had taken so long.

"I could've just let myself in." Evie pointed out. She had learned by second year which barrel to tap to enter the Hufflepuff common room.

"Yeah, except it's sort of frowned upon for you to be doing that."

"Like I don't do frowned upon things every year." Evie joked. When she didn't receive a laugh from Cedric she shrugged in defeat. "Alright, I'll stop letting myself into your common room."

"Thank you." Cedric smiled before turning her back the way she came. "Come on, let's take a walk. It looks great outside."

"Are you going to ask?" Evie said after they had been walking for a bit in silence.

"Ask what?"

"Oh, come off it! You know the only person I could've run into was Cho. You're not curious what we talked about?"

"Nope." Cedric bit his bottom lip as he answered.

"You're lying." Evie grinned. "Well, if you won't tell me the truth, I won't tell you what we talked about."

After a few more minutes of silence, Cedric said,"Well, I guess you could tell me. But only since you seem so eager to."

"I knew it." Evie smirked in satisfaction before jumping into her explanation. "Okay, so apparently congratulations are in order?" Evie nudged Cedric as they walked towards the lake. "Somebody's got himself a girlfriend." She sang.

"Yeah, alright. Don't be a child, Evie." Cedric said, but he blushed slightly at her teasing.

"That's so great! I'm really happy for you." Evie responded, getting serious. "Cho's really nice, and I like her."

"I'm glad to hear that." Cedric sighed in relief.

"That was a really nice necklace as well. A swan is a very elegant bird." Evie complimented.

"Yeah, I saw it and it just reminded me of her, you know? I mean the way she rides her broom is really graceful, and –"

"Oh Merlin, Cedric. Please don't turn into a gushing fool, I might vomit." Evie cut him off causing her brother to blush and flick her lightly on her scrunched nose. "Ow." She complained, rubbing her nose, even though it didn't hurt very much at all.

"Don't be so cynical, Evie. Who knows, one day you might be talking in the same loving manner about some bloke."

"First, I highly doubt that. And second, why does the guy I get all mushy with have to be a bloke and Cho a 'graceful swan'?" Evie mimicked Cedric terribly, which earned her another flick on the nose. "Again, ow!" It still didn't hurt. "You know, I'm apparently becoming a young lady, so you'll have to stop flicking me in the nose and start acting like a gentleman." Evie pretended to put on airs of regality.

Cedric just snorted at her. "Sure you are." He rolled his eyes. "Not that that would matter to me anyway."

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Because you'll always be the same annoying little sister to me." He smiled as though he'd just said something absolutely endearing.

"Annoying? Please! What would you even do without me? You love me! I'm the most adorable thing in your life, sir." Evie put a hand on her hip and pretended to be cross.

"Yep, adorably annoying. Don't feel insulted though, you'd be a terrible little sister if you weren't annoying."

Evie just stuck her tongue out at him before changing the subject. "So…" she began to get more serious as they walked around the Black Lake.

"So…?" Cedric repeated as they searched for a spot to sit.

"Will you tell me about Mum?" Evie asked, causing Cedric to freeze before he sighed and sat where he was. Evie followed suit and watched as Cedric struggled with how to approach the unexpected question.

He ran a hand through his hair and smiled apologetically at Evie. "I don't really remember her." He finally answered.

"But you remember more than I do. Cedric, please! Dad still can't talk about her, or at least he won't talk to me about her." Evie looked down. She had always suspected that her father feared telling her much about her mother because he worried she would blame herself for her death. Sometimes she feared that he blamed her a bit. But more than anything, she saw how, when he told her the little ways that she was like her mother, he looked pained, like every time he thought of his wife his heart broke a little. "I just want to know what you remember, so I can picture her better."

Cedric smiled sadly at his little sister. She had never known their mother; she didn't even have the hazy memories he had to hold on to. He knew it killed their father to talk about her and had learned long ago not to ask. Looking out over the calm lake he tried to find memories to share with her.

Evie waited so long she began to lose hope that he would tell her anything, when he finally began. "I remember she was an excellent cook." Cedric smiled. His eyes were closed as he tried to grasp the memories before they slipped away. "She would make breakfast every morning before Dad and I woke up. Then she'd come into my room and ask me to help her pour the juice so I felt like I'd helped make breakfast for Dad too."

Evie smiled as she listened to the kind of stories she had always longed to hear.

"I remember she used to chase me around the house playing tickle monster, and she would laugh the whole time. Her laugh was infectious. Evie, when Mum laughed it was impossible not to laugh with her." Cedric chuckled just at the memory of her laugh.

"She was very kind, and when she would hug me…I remember I would bury my face in her hair. It smelled like honeysuckle." Cedric opened his eyes and smiled at Evie, who had tears forming in her eyes. "You look a lot like her, you know?"

"I miss her." Evie whispered to her brother. A few tears fell from her eyes, and Cedric put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug.

"I miss her too."

"How do you miss someone you've never met?" Evie searched Cedric's face for an answer.

"It's easy…when they are a piece of you. Part of who you are." Cedric sighed.

"I wonder if this is what Harry feels like?" Evie questioned.

"You've never talked to him about it before?" Cedric leaned back to look at her in surprise.

"Well…no. We never really talk about that stuff." Evie suddenly felt a bit guilty, like maybe she had missed something important and obvious.

"You might want to try sometime, when you really think about it, you'll probably understand each other a lot better than anyone else when it comes to this."

Evie looked Cedric in shock for a moment. "You know, sometimes you can be really smart." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm always really smart; it's just rare for you to acknowledge it."

"Hmm…no, that doesn't sound right." Evie smiled, then, turning serious for a second, she said, "Thanks, Cedric."

"Anytime." He smiled back. "So, how are classing going so far?"

As the conversation turned on to lighter subjects, the siblings stayed by the lake until they realized they missed lunch, at which point they went to the kitchens and were treated to leftovers by the house elves. After they ate they went their separate ways. Cedric went off to find Cho and Evie went to the library where she met Hermione and they finished up the homework they had left.


	13. Chapter 13

As the weeks passed, Evie found herself falling into the normal routine of things at Hogwarts- up early for classes, in the library at every possible free period with Hermione and trying to keep Harry from worrying too much about Sirius. Actually, she supposed that was a new bit to the routine. There was often something she was keeping Harry from worrying about, but a godfather was not usually one of them.

Personally, Evie was surprised Harry wasn't also worrying about Professor Lupin, though she probably didn't have to call him professor anymore. Lupin was the nicest DADA professor they had had thus far. He was also a werewolf and Evie knew very well how hard life was for werewolves. She wondered if he was alright, and if Dumbledore still kept up with him.

The only thing that was tainting Evie's fourth year, other than the worry for Sirius and Lupin, was the current struggle she faced every DADA lesson with Professor Moody. His methods were questionable and he often did things she felt bordered on unethical. What was worse was that every class it just seemed to get more dangerous.

One class, not long before the end of October, she and her friends were all sitting in shock as they processed what he'd just told them. He was going to place the Imperius Curse on them. A slight panic rose in Evie's stomach as she realized the full extent of the statement. Hermione, standing beside her, tried to understand the best way she knew how, by asking questions. Moody's response to her, however, was unsatisfying for Evie. She couldn't bring herself to leave the class though, and so she waited with the rest of her peers, feeling quite like a lamb being led to slaughter, to have the Imperius Curse placed upon her so she could see if she had the ability to fight it.

One by one, Evie watched, each of her classmates give into the curse. Dean hopped around the room singing the national anthem. Lavender imitated a squirrel, and Neville started doing gymnastics, the likes of which Evie had never seen. As this continued, Evie became more and more nervous that she, too, would make a fool of herself.

Then Harry went, and Evie watched as one of her best friends fought against the curse. He struggled against jumping on the desk, and though he partially gave in to the curse, he had handled it better than anybody else thus far. Moody was so excited that he made Harry fight the curse four more times, until Harry was no longer affected by it at all.

After Harry, Ron went, and though he did not beat the curse he did fight against it as well, towards the end. Moody tested him a few more times but each time it took Ron a moment to try to fight. After a particularly hard fall Moody let him stop trying.

Then it was her turn, and Evie felt her stomach drop to her feet. She walked quietly into the area that had been cleared of desks for the lesson and waited. "Imperio!" Moody said quickly, catching her off guard, though she should have never been off guard considering she'd just watched the same thing happen to almost all of her housemates.

The feeling was not one she'd been expecting. Evie had thought it might be uncomfortable or unpleasant in some way. In fact, it was the exact opposite, which once she really thought about it made perfect sense. Lulling people into a false sense of security, make them feel wonderful and happy so that they trust the voice someone is forcing into their head. Why would it not feel nice? It would be stupid for it to feel anything but as nice and worry free as it felt in her mind at that moment. She worried about nothing. She feared nothing for just that moment, before the foreign and yet familiar voice violated her mind. And while she wanted to trust it, for it had given her the lovely feelings she was experiencing, she didn't like it because she felt invaded.

_You are a ballet dancer._

That's what the voice was saying, but Evie couldn't get passed the fact that a voice that didn't belong in her head was there.

_Show the class a pirouette._

Her mind was her own private space and the voice inside it now did not belong to her.

_Pirouette for the class._

Evie wanted to do it, for the voice and the nice feelings it brought her. She began to stand on her tiptoes and she froze there.

_I said show them a pirouette._

A voice she knew, one that did belong in her mind, started to protest. She didn't know this second voice, no matter how nice, no matter what feelings it caused. It did not belong there.

_Pirouette!_

Evie was making the other voice angry and she didn't want that. She started to lift a leg to pirouette for it, so that it would be as happy as it had made her. But she stopped again with her foot not two inches off the ground. Suddenly the wonderful feeling left her and for just a moment she felt as though she had disappointed it because she would not do what it asked. But, as the fog cleared and she remembered the entire point of what she was actually supposed to be doing, her eyes came to focus on her professor's approving face.

Evie put her foot back on the ground and stood normally again. Her head was still confused and there was the beginning of a headache forming, but as she looked at Moody she could tell what was about to come out of his mouth before he said it and she instantly wished she had given in just like everybody else had.

"AGAIN!"

By the time the lesson was over, Evie's toes were sore. For some reason Professor Moody kept trying to make her do things on her tiptoes. Ron was still walking awkwardly and Harry had a bump on his forehead. The three of them were a right mess. The only one in the quartet who had not sustained any such injuries was Hermione.

Evie, along with every single person in the class, had been absolutely floored when, instead of easily fighting off the curse, Hermione gave in without a fight. She delicately began pretending to serve tea to Lavender and Parvati without as much as a twitch against it.

Hermione, herself, also seem horrified to learn she had given in so easily. After class she'd rushed off towards the library without a single word to anyone.

Harry, Ron and Evie shared a worried look before Evie decided it was best that she go after Hermione. She left the boys for the library with a brisk wave.

On the way to the library Evie bumped into none other than Malfoy.

"Oh Merlin, not you," she sighed.

"Nice to see you too Diggory." Malfoy rolled his eyes. There was a pause as both of them waited for the other to do something. "I believe you owe me an apology." Malfoy finally said.

"Excuse me?" Evie chuckled in shock.

"You heard me, Diggory."

"Oh, yes I did hear you. What I'm wondering is why I would ever apologize to you?"

"You bumped into me. I am owed –"

"Since when do I care what you think you're owed, ferret?"

Malfoy's cheeks became tinged in pink as she called him that. Anger flashed in his eyes and it delighted Evie in a way only seeing his anger ever did. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and it caused Malfoy's face to turn from anger to confusion.

Evie instantly forced her face back to a scowl when she realized her mistake. But it was too late; a heavy blush was already forming on her own cheeks. She never wanted Malfoy to know how much joy she derived from frustrating him and though she wasn't quite sure why, she was quite sure that she wanted to be far away from him that very moment.

"If you're done staring, I have somewhere important to be." Evie glared.

"Don't flatter yourself, Diggory. The only reason I'd ever stare at you would be to…oh wait, I wouldn't be caught dead staring at you."

Evie just glared, and then made a point of pushing past him instead of using the abundance of hallway space provided. She continued on to the library where she was surprised to see Lavender and Parvati huddled over a book. Well, surprised until she realized that the book was _The Beautician's Book of Spells_, and suddenly it wasn't shocking anymore.

After waving, since if she'd called out to them Madam Pince would've had her out of the library so fast Evie would've began doubting she'd ever even entered the place, she continued on searching for Hermione. Evie found her best friend hidden in the back of the library, deep in a rather thick book. Its cover held no pictures or fancy text and Evie could tell, even from her steadily decreasing distance, that it was from the restricted section.

"Hermione?" She said as she came to a halt beside the occupied chair.

Hermione looked up, shocked to find Evie there. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here? You ran off after the lesson, that's not like you."

"I couldn't do it." Hermione sighed, looking down as though ashamed of herself.

"Couldn't do what?"

"You know what! I couldn't fight the curse. You could, Harry could, even Ron started to, but I couldn't."

"So? Loads of people can't fight that curse. Hermione, Harry is the only one in our whole class who completely beat it. Ron basically listened for the majority of the time he was under and I…I was half listening and half fighting."

"But you all fought!"

"SHH!" Madam Pince could be seen from her desk looking back in the direction of the two girls. Evie couldn't see her very well, but she could imagine the fury in the librarian's eyes as she shushed them. Both gave an apologetic wave before turning back to the conversation at hand.

"Hermione…" Evie sighed as she sat in the chair next to her friend. "You can't always be the best at everything. And, honestly, your desire to follow the rules is probably what caused you to give in to the curse," Hermione looked more upset than before, but Evie continued anyway. "This doesn't mean you aren't still absolutely brilliant. This doesn't even diminish your brilliance a little. You are strong and stubborn and I know that with some practice we can get you to beat that curse. I still need help not giving in too. If we work together, we can both be strong enough to ignore whatever that curse, and Professor Moody, throws at us."

"How are we supposed to do that? We can't curse each other; we'll be expelled and in Azkaban before either of us even gets the chance to apologize."

"We don't really need to practice like that. Plus I'm almost positive that Professor Moody will be trying that on us again at some point," Evie said blandly, not looking forward to any part of that. "Right now, what we need to focus on is getting you to figure out what your little voice is made of."

"My little voice?"

"Yeah, you know, that thing that asks why you should be doing something, or tells you what's about to happen will probably be bad, or says 'we really shouldn't be in here'?"

"Oh, my conscience?"

"Yes, that's the word!" Evie smiled. "My conscience made me fight against the curse because I felt violated. There was a voice in my mind that wasn't my own and I knew it didn't belong there, so I tried to make myself stop listening to it. It wasn't nearly as easy as Harry made it look. Part of me really wanted to do what it said."

"So I need to figure out why I wouldn't listen to someone?"

"Exactly. When do you break the rules?"

"When something is wrong and people could get hurt. Or I guess when it's the right thing to do."

"Alright, that's a great place to start." Evie clapped her hands together, and for the time being S.P.E.W. was forgotten. Evie and Hermione spent their time in the library, no longer trying to promote elvish welfare, but trying to master their minds. Evie even pulled Harry and Ron aside and asked them to explain to her why and how they fought against the curse so that she could make sure that what she was working on with Hermione was the right way to go.

The girls dedicated themselves for two full weeks to mastering their minds and being strong enough to fight easily against the Imperius Curse, but as the second week of their intense mind training ended, the sudden extra piles of homework forced them to put it on the back burner next to S.P.E.W.

The professors of Hogwarts began bombarding their fourth year students with essay, tests and projects as the days passed; the students had definitely noticed. One day, after a particularly long list of homework from Professor McGonagall, the students finally figured out why. In their fifth year they would be taking their O.W.L.s, a very important test that helped them learn what opportunities they might have in the future. It was because of that extra homework that Evie did not realize October was half way over.

So it was, that after Care of Magical Creature, Evie found herself blindsided by more Triwizard Tournament news. As the four friends entered the entrance hall, they found they could not move. A large group of students had formed around a giant sign that had been erected at the foot of the stairs some time during morning lessons. Since they could not get closer Ron, who was the tallest, stood on his tiptoes in order to read the sign to the other three.

The students from the two other schools participating in the tournament, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, would be arriving at 6 o'clock on the thirtieth, a Friday. They were going to be let out of their classes half an hour early, so that they could all take their bags back to their rooms and gather in front of the castle in order to greet the visitors.

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan beamed as he emerged from the crowd. He had not noticed their group; he was talking to a fellow Hufflepuff in their same year called Zacharias Smith. Evie had met Zacharias once or twice; he was not what she expected from a Hufflepuff. "I wonder if Cedric knows? I think I'll go and tell him…"

This part caught Evie off guard. Before Ernie could rush off she stopped him. "Hey, Ernie, wait!" She pushed away from her friends, but was still close enough that they could hear.

"Oh, hey Evie! How are you? Exciting news about the tournament, eh?" Ernie smiled brightly. He had no idea he had just given Evie a very shocking bit of information.

"Yeah, really exciting stuff," Evie said dismissively. "Why would Cedric need to know about when the other schools are coming?"

"He's going to try to be the Hogwarts champion," Ernie said as though it was common knowledge. "Didn't he tell you? Practically all of Hufflepuff knows! We're all behind him, of course." Ernie smiled, as though what he was saying wasn't news at all.

"Right, of course he is," Evie pretended to laugh, but inside she was seething. "Hey, Ernie, you mind if I go tell him the news?"

"Go for it, you're his sister after all, it should be you," Ernie laughed.

"Thanks." Evie gave a tight smile as her anger began to boil over.

"Evie…?" Hermione called questioningly, but Evie did not turn to acknowledge her friend. Instead she shoved her way through the crowd with a stiff determination.

Once she finally reached the Great Hall where food was already filling the tables, she made a beeline for the Hufflepuff table. Cedric was sitting with some friends from the Quidditch team, and they were all laughing innocently.

"Cedric?" Evie glared, catching her brother's attention.

"Hey Evie!" One of the guys from the team, she could not tell which at the moment, called to her happily.

"What's up?" Cedric asked in confusion when she ignored the greeting.

"We need to talk."

"Alright…"

"Alone."

"…okay? I'll be right back guys." Cedric got up from the table and led Evie towards the kitchens since the Entrance Hall was still packed with students. Once they had gotten a decent ways away from the hall he stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

"When did you decide you were putting your name up?" Evie rounded on him instantly, her anger no longer hidden.

"I thought you understood that I was putting my name up."

"No! I understood that you were thinking about it. All of Hufflepuff apparently got the real story," she snapped.

"What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about is why does Ernie Macmillan know more about what you're planning than I do? I had to hear from him, as he was telling Zacharias Smith, by the way, that you had made a decision." Evie crossed her arms and glared for a second before continuing, "So what? Now all of Hufflepuff is more important than your own sister?"

"Stop being ridiculous and tell me what this is really about," Cedric sighed, not the least bit flustered by her anger.

Evie sighed, instantly deflated as he denied her the reaction she'd hoped for. Dropping her hands to her sides, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering, "Why do you have to do this?"

"I thought you said you would stand by me if I decided to try to be the Champion."

"Yeah, of course I said that, and I still will. But I had honestly hoped that me saying I would stand behind you would be enough for you not to feel the need to do this. I don't want you to do this."

"But I want to."

"Why?"

"Because…I want to bring something back to my house and to the school. When I helped bring that victory over Gryffindor last year, even though I didn't deserve it, my house mates looked at me like I was a hero. That felt great! But I didn't deserve it. I didn't earn that status the right way. But if I become the Hogwarts champion, and I win this tournament, I'll really deserve it."

"You don't need to be a hero, Cedric."

"Says the girl who spends every year being a hero," Cedric chuckled. Evie sighed, realizing that he was right. "It's not really about being hero anyway; it's about being a hero the right way. It's about deserving to be called a hero. I just want to deserve it."

"Okay," Evie took another deep breath. "I promised I would stand by you, and that's what I'm going to do."


	14. Chapter 14

In the days leading up to the thirtieth all anyone at Hogwarts could talk about was the Triwizard Tournament. Evie didn't find the topic nearly as interesting as her peers though, and the only topic surrounding the Tournament she would even bother to comment on was how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang might differ from the students of Hogwarts.

She found that topic to be particularly interesting. She knew a few things about each school, less about Durmstrang than Beauxbatons since they preferred to shroud themselves in secrecy. They were known for being very wary of the outside world and emphasizing the student's Dark Arts studies. The very idea of that made Evie a little nervous to see what they students might be like.

In preparation for the other schools, the castle itself also underwent some changes. It began looking tidier with each passing day, and each day the castle got cleaner Filch got angrier. He even managed to reduce a few first year girls to tears one day as they walked in from their morning lessons.

Filch wasn't the only staff member to become tense with as the week leading up to the arrival of the other schools came to a close. McGonagall lost her cool on Neville when he accidentally placed his ear on a cactus he was supposed to be performing a Switching Spell on. After that lesson Evie and Hermione promised to help Neville practice.

Finally the morning of the thirtieth arrived. Evie awoke earlier than usual. By the time she finished her shower Lavender and Parvati were up and in the bathroom as well.

Evie usually liked to be one in the bathroom before they woke up because if she and Hermione weren't they would not be able to use the mirror. Evie huffed a bit at finding the two had also woken up earlier than they usually did because she really needed to brush out her hair but the counter in front of the mirror no longer held her brush, it held the usual array of makeup supplies Lavender and Parvati brought to school for special occasions. Not that it mattered because they both were also scrunching themselves into the mirror in order to do their makeup together.

Sighing in frustration Evie walked into the room the four shared and found Hermione waiting for her. "Why are they up so early?" She grumbled instead of her usual 'good morning'.

"They said today was special and they wanted to look good. I think Parvati said, 'Beauty takes time'." Hermione rolled her eyes. Then looking over her friend she asked, "What are you going to do with your hair?"

"I'll just toss it up." Evie looked down at her wrist and realized her elastic had also been on the counter in the bathroom. "Never mind, I took off my elastic when I showered. It's probably wherever they tossed my brush."

"But you've got your locket on; didn't you take that off when you showered?"

"No, I never take this off." Evie's hand went protectively to the locket her mother had left for her.

"Not ever?" Hermione asked in shock.

"No." Evie shrugged. "Dad told me to keep it safe and never take it off, so I haven't."

Hermione looked as though she was about to say something, and then thought better of it. "We should hurry. Want me to dry your hair at least?" She offered, keenly aware that the morning's events had set Evie in a bad mood.

"Yeah, thanks." Evie sighed. Hermione flicked her wand, drying Evie's hair for her and then the two finished dressing quickly and rushed down to the common room. For once Harry and Ron were waiting for them.

"Your hair is down." Harry said in shock instead of his usual morning greeting.

"Yes, it is. Lavender and Parvati took over the bloody bathroom and I lost my elastic." Evie snapped.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Ron mumbled. Evie shot him a look that dared him to say something else. Ron was smart enough not to though.

"Let's just get down to breakfast." Hermione smiled warily. Harry and Ron nodded as they eyed Evie with hesitation.

Evie noticed these looks, and though she also recognized that she was taking out her frustration on her friends she was still too irritated to apologize. Instead she huffed and led the group down to the Great Hall. When they got there, however, Evie was too surprised by the new look to remember just how upset she was.

Overnight the Great Hall had finally received its makeover. Silk banners representing the four houses hung from the walls leading up to the professor's table where the largest banner of all hung. It was purple with the Hogwarts coat of arms on it.

The quartet walked over to the Gryffindor table where they happened upon Fred and George. The twins were whispering quietly about trying to get a hold of someone who seemed to be avoiding them. However, when Ron started asking questions they both blew him off, refusing to answer anything.

Sensing that that particular conversation would go nowhere Harry changed the subject. "You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Thought anymore about trying to enter?"

George started answering Harry but Evie was hardly listening. She had grown tired of the Triwizard fever that had swept through her school. She had also shot Harry a death glare for encouraging the twins to continue to try to enter the tournament even though they weren't of age.

"Who are the judges?" Harry was asking when Evie tuned back in to the conversation.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel." Hermione was explaining. Evie found she was even more annoying to hear that her best friend had also joined the conversation. For once she was actually happy when Hermione quickly turned the conversation back to elf rights.

That particular campaign had picked itself back up with a vehement new wind of vigor from Hermione's end. While Evie continued limited her own involvement to making scarves and such other things for the elves, Harry and Ron had done little else besides paying their two Sickles in order to receive their S.P.E.W badges. Evie honestly believed they had only done so to get Hermione off their backs. She, too, had paid her fee and received her badge. Despite all of their seeming lack of enthusiasm for the cause, Hermione was still excited that they were "members" and had gone to work accosting other students in the Gryffindor commons to try to recruit more members.

After Evie, Harry and Ron had received their badges Hermione badgered them to wear said badges, and once they had given in on that front, she proceeded to badger them to persuade others to join the cause. That seemed to be where all three drew the line. Evie was pardoned after she reminded Hermione that she was busy making things to free the elves, but Harry and Ron still got angry looks for not participating more.

Evie did have to give it to Hermione that she had managed to get so many students to actually pay for a badge. Though some of them, like Neville, had only done so to get her stop glaring at them, a few seemed to actually be interested in her cause. Most, however, thought the whole thing was a joke and simply laughed it off. Fred and Gorge had not been bullied into paying up for a badge and they didn't seem to care one way or another if Hermione glared daggers at them as they passed by.

"Listen, have you ever been down to the kitchens, Hermione?" George leaned into Hermione to ask. He had been the only boy to not pretend to be completely taken with his food or the fixtures.

"No, of course not," Hermione answered indignantly. "I hardly think students are supposed –"

"We have." George cut her off as he indicated to Fred and himself. "We've met them, and they're _happy_. They think they've got the best jobs in the world."

Evie gawked at George, wondering why he would start such an argument with Hermione when he, like all members of their current party, had been subjected to her fervent lectures at Percy over the last two weeks of summer.

They were lucky that Hermione never got to finish the lecture she was just starting because the owls came. Bernard dropped her usual weekly letter from her dad. He asked for an update on classes and told her to be sure she was on her best behavior when the other two schools showed up. Then he told her to try and be supportive of Cedric and that if he was selected as Hogwarts Champion he would be coming up when he could for the tasks. He ended the letter in his usual way, sending his love and when Evie looked up from it she realized Harry had also received a letter.

She caught enough of the conversation to understand that Sirius was back and he wanted Harry to stop sending Hedwig every time he wrote. After the letters arrived breakfast ended. By that point Evie wasn't nearly as frustrated as she had been when it began. Unfortunately her mood did nothing but worsen as they day dragged on.

In History, Binns was being especially boring, and for the first time ever Evie fell asleep in class. Of course, she was the only student Binns caught sleeping and he reprimanded her in front of the rest of the class. Her reprimanding woke Harry and Ron and they were saved the same scolding.

Then, in Charms, they were learning Banishing charms which are the exact opposite of Summoning Charms. Unfortunately, Neville had terrible aim and accidentally banished a cushion into Lavender, who in turn knocked into Evie which caused her to miss aim and banish a lit candle into one of the stacks of cushions. They caught fire almost instantly and Professor Flitwick had to rush to put them out.

By lunch Evie's mood was foul indeed. She walked down to the Great hall with her friends and silently seethed the whole way there. As she walked some people teased her for setting the cushions on fire and she could hear the story picking up speed as it swept through the student body. All of that did not improve her mood in the slightest. By the time she got to the table her appetite was lost and her mood was at an all time low, reminiscent of the time in first year when they had lost all those house points and pretty much secured Gryffindor's place at the bottom of the running for the House Cup.

It was because of all of this that, when Fred and George came and sat on either side of her and asked if she had really set something on fire, Evie snapped. She slammed her cutlery onto her still empty plate and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." She growled and stomped out of the Great Hall. Hermione called after her, but did not follow and Evie was grateful for that.

Heading outside the cold air instantly pulled the wind from her furious sails. Pulling her cloak tighter around her and ducking her head down, Evie trudged through the grass towards the tree by the lake that she, Harry, Ron and Hermione often sat under when the weather was warmer.

As she sat, close to the lake so as to not be under the shade of the tree, Evie looked out and emptied her mind. The lake was still and calm, nothing moved in the water and its surface only rippled from the wind sweeping over it. For a moment the day was silent, all students and teachers were inside eating, and no animals felt much like braving the weather for any reason. Evie's nose began to numb and she rubbed her hands together and then placed them on her cheeks to warm her face.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard, barely audible on the grass but loud because of the contrasting silence. Evie could tell it was multiple people, and they were heading towards her. Honestly, she had wondered how long it would take her friends to come for her, so she didn't bother to turn when they came up on either side of her. What did surprise her, however, was when she noticed the identical faces of two ginger sixth years in her peripherals.

Looking to her left and then right, Evie was greeted with identical apologetic grins. She waited for the twins to break the silence.

"So, we're sorry." George started.

"Yeah, Hermione told us you're having a crappy day." Fred continued.

"We didn't know. And we didn't mean to add to it."

"We were teasing, honestly."

"What can we do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing!" Evie looked between the two of them. "I don't want either of you doing anything against the rules and saying it was to make me feel better." She glowered at them both.

"We could do something not against the rules," Fred said.

"I doubt that." Evie's voice was humorless.

"Oh, come on, Evie."

"Yeah, we don't like this new temperament."

"Where's that sweet smile?"

"Gone. I lost it today and I don't think it's coming back for a while so you two might as well leave me be."

"Did that sound like a challenge to you, Fred?"

"You know, it did, Georgie." Then after receiving an approving nod, like they had just had one of their famous silent conversations, Fred whipped out his wand and said a spell Evie had never heard before. A single bubble appeared in front of her.

"Really? That's your brilliant cheer up move? It's a bubble," Evie stated deadpanned, though she was also a bit disappointed. Still holding on to her simmering frustrations Evie popped the bubble, only to have two more appear where the one had been. "Wha –" Evie looked incredulously at the twins, and then, as though trying to prove she could defeat the bubbles she popped the two floating lazily in front of her. The two bubbles instead became four.

As Evie stared at the four bubbles a conflict of feelings began brewing in her gut. She wanted the bubbles to die, but she also felt like laughing and screaming. She was mad at the twins and pleased with this endless bubble all at once. Not knowing which emotion to show Evie just kept popping the bubbles, sometimes angrier than others. She wanted to defeat the bubbles and she kept popping as Fred and George just sat quietly by and watched.

Finally, tired of trying to pop the bubbles, Evie stopped with a sigh. At some point she had stood up and she felt herself flop back down between the twins. At last taking in what she had done, Evie realized that they were surrounded by many bubbles. Looking at the sight before them, her face finally broke into a smile and then that deteriorated into a fit of giggles. She popped one last bubble and watched it turn into two, the smile growing wider on her face as it did.

Evie smiled at the two Weasleys. "Thanks, that was actually really helpful."

"Don't sound so surprised." George pretended to be insulted.

"Yeah, we can be helpful when we want," Fred added indignantly.

"Alright, alright sorry." Evie held up her hands in surrender. "So, how do you get rid of all the bubbles?"

George waved his wand and with a small counter spell all the bubbles were gone.

"Where did you two learn that anyway?"

"We invented it." Fred smiled proudly.

"Really?" Evie looked between the two in awe. "That's amazing. Really well done." Catching herself as she began to gush to the twins Evie cleared her throat. "I mean, it's alright," she shrugged and received knowing grins from the two boys. "So…" she said, changing the subject. "What are you two so bothered about lately?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I've seen you huddling in corners talking real quiet like. We overheard part of your conversation today as well. Who's been avoiding you?"

"Bagman," the twins grumbled in unison.

"Ludo Bagman?" They nodded. "Why, what's he done?"

"We bet our life-savings on the World Cup."

"I heard."

"We won. We guessed that Krum would get the Snitch but Ireland would win."

"Alright?"

"He didn't give us our winning!"

"What?" Evie felt her anger levels rising again. "How could he do that? It's completely unethical!

"Yeah, well, we've been trying to write to him and get our money, but he hasn't gotten back to us."

"That's alright though. He'll be here for the tournament. That means we can corner him if we've got to. He can't ignore us when we're right in front of his face."

"That's right, he can't!" Evie agreed. Then coming back to her senses she sighed. "I'm really sorry, and thanks for cheering me up." She smiled.

"Any time," they said in unison again. Then both twins placed a kiss on either side of her head and the bell rang to signify the end of lunch.

The trio stood and walked back to the castle where they met Hermione, Harry and Ron. Waving to Fred and George the quartet rushed off to the dungeons and Evie was glad the class would be half an hour shorter than usual.


	15. Chapter 15

**I lost my beta, but recently found a new one. All unbeta'd chapters from here forward will be edited for SPaG errors and fixed. **

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"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron as she and the other Heads of House were trying to bring order and presentability to the entire student body gathered in the entrance hall to greet the two arriving schools. "Miss. Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Evie grinned in satisfaction as Parvati glowered before pulling the ornamental butterfly clip from her hair and pocketing it.

Even though Fred and George had put her in a better mood earlier, Evie was still upset with Lavender and Parvati, whom she blamed for her entire horrible day. Especially since Potions had not been much better. Though they were able to leave a half hour earlier, Evie had experienced for the first time just how unbearable the class would be without her hair up in its usual ponytail. It had stuck to her forehead and cheeks as she sweated through making her potion.

It had been by the grace of Merlin that she'd managed to find her brush and hair band once she and Hermione had returned to their room to deposit their bags. Just as she'd originally suspected, her other two roommates had simply pushed them from the counter in order to make room for all of their beauty supplies. Evie had already made a mental note to pay them back for it. Perhaps she would hide Parvati's copy of Witch Weekly next time it came in.

"Follow me, please," Professor McGonagall ordered. "First years up front…no pushing."

Evie fell in line between Harry and Hermione as they filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and Evie found she could not tell if she was nervous, excited or some combination of the two. Her stomach was in knots, and a shiver ran down her spine as the cold night air brushed against her cheeks.

The waiting was the worst part. It was quiet, except the random mumbling of students who were unsure if it was alright to speak. For Evie, the atmosphere lent itself to a silent anticipation. Dusk fell upon them and saw a transparent looking moon begin to rise over the Forbidden Forest before there was any sign of their long awaited visitors.

On either side of her, Evie's friends were speculating on how the other two schools would arrive. She was too jittery to join the conversation, but in her mind she was also wondering how the other schools would travel. It also occurred to her that, if the other schools had ways of transporting large groups of students long distances, then Hogwarts must also have something set up for such an occasion.

Suddenly, Evie found herself wondering how Hogwarts would have transferred some of its students had one of the other schools been hosting the tournament instead. She highly doubted they would take the boats or horseless carriages. They were small and could not possibly carry students, luggage and still be comfortable. Not to mention, taking twenty odd boats or carriages was hardly practical.

Suddenly Dumbledore called her attention away from her pondering by announcing that Beauxbatons had arrived. When another student finally spotted their transportation, Evie looked on in awe.

"…it's a flying house!" Evie looked to see Colin Creevy's younger brother Dennis, whom she remembered as the boy who fell in the lake, informing his fellow first years of what he thought it was. She did have to hand it to the kid, he was closer than anyone else had been, including Harry and Ron.

In actuality, Beauxbatons had come in a flying carriage that was the size of a house. It was being pulled through the air by a dozen elephant sized winged horses. Evie knew almost nothing about horses, but she did know when something was beautiful, and these beige and white mane horses were beautiful. They were also, of course, far larger than any other winged horse, but that just meant that they were obviously Abraxan.

"They must be Abraxan," Hermione whispered beside her and Evie turned to smile at her friend. The kinship she felt when Hermione voiced a thought she'd just had always surprised her, even three years later.

"I was thinking the same." Then, realizing that horses were the type of animal Muggles might learn about she asked, "Do you know what sort of horses they are?"

"Palominos," Hermione answered without hesitation.

Quirking an eyebrow, Evie asked, "Do you know much about horses?"

"Only basic things, like popular breeds," She nodded to the winged palominos that were coming in for a landing. "And a few other tidbits I recall from my mum. She loves horses, always wanted one as a girl."

Their conversation ended there as the carriage landed with a loud bang and they both caught sight of the fiery red eyes of the horses. From the castle light Evie could see that the wings of the palominos were blue, which seemed to match with the colors of Beauxbatons. The boy who had jumped from the carriage was wearing pale blue robes; the majority of the carriage itself was blue with gold accents, such as the Beauxbatons school crest. It was far daintier than the Hogwarts crest and Evie wondered if the Beauxbatons students would look down their noses at them for being less extravagant and more practical.

The first to descend the golden steps the boy in the pale blue robes had released was a woman, obviously the Headmistress, and the Hogwarts student body could not help itself as they gasped when she had finally revealed herself to them. It was not the elegant black satin that draped her body, or the abundance of magnificent opals that hung from her neck and filled her fingers that caused the gasps either.

She was the largest woman Evie had ever laid eyes on. She might very well have been as tall as Hagrid. She was handsome enough with sleek black hair pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and lovely olive skin. But the size of her, though she was not overweight, was all anyone could really focus on.

She seemed displeased as she eyed the awestruck crowd, and it wasn't until Dumbledore began a clap that the students hesitantly joined in on that a smile graced her lips. She strode to Dumbledore, who greeted her with a kiss on the hand and a compliment. This is how Evie learned the Headmistress' name was Madame Maxime. Her French accent was thick and she referred to Dumbledore as "Dumbly-dorr" which made Evie giggle silently into her hand and earned her an elbow from Hermione.

As Evie rubbed her aching side the students from Beauxbatons appeared from inside the carriage. They were every bit as fancy looking as Evie had expected, with their silk robes and delicate shawls. Not one of them had dressed practically for the coming winter. To further confirm her suspicions, some of them seemed to be looking up at Hogwarts in apprehension.

A irritated feeling warmed Evie's cheeks as she wondered, as she silently glared at the students that passed by her and made their way into the castle, how glamorous could Beauxbatons be for them to turn up their noses at her school.

As they went back to waiting most of the students were expecting Durmstrang to arrive the same way Beauxbatons had. Evie, however, had a feeling they would be showing off in an entirely different way. From what little she knew of the school she had a very hard time believing they would ever arrive in something so...pretty.

There were rumors Durmstrang put a big emphasis of Dark Arts, so Evie expected a horse drawn carriage, even if the horses had red eyes, was not that school's style. Then Lee Jordan shouted that something was happening in the lake.

Everyone turned to watch as the smooth black surface of the lake was suddenly disturbed and a whirlpool began spinning as though the lake were somehow being drained. In the middle of the whirlpool rose a giant ship. By its appearance Evie could only think to call it a ghost ship, for it had a slightly ethereal and definitively dead feel to it. Looking at the Durmstrang ship made her uncomfortable.

The anchor dropped and was followed by a plank. Then a line a students descended, all of them the same size as Crabbe and Goyle. Evie gulped thinking of what she knew of the school. This line of students was probably a line of more intelligent versions of the oafs that followed Malfoy around.

As the group continued to move forward into the light of the castle Evie realized they weren't actually as burly as they seemed, they just happened to be in thick fur coats. She almost thunked herself over the head for not considering that they must have to wear coats like that in the north, which was the only location anyone could discern for the school.

When the Headmaster stepped into the light he was not what Evie had been expecting. His voice, as he greeted Dumbledore, was full and rich. His hair was white and short and he had a goatee that was finished with a curl. When he smiled up at Hogwarts he revealed yellow teeth, and it wasn't until that moment that the two ideas that had just presented themselves in Evie's mind finally seemed to click. In that moment she realized that while the smile graced his lips it did not reach his eyes. They were dark and cold and she could finally see how this man, who seemed to put on an air of charm but inside remain cold and callous, could be associated with the school know for its Dark Arts practices.

As Karkaroff and Dumbledore continued their formalities he beckoned forward one of this students and Evie's heart jumped into her throat.

"Harry, that's Krum!"

She could hear Ron explaining excitedly but she couldn't find the part of her brain that allowed her to speak. It was a sudden affliction, much like the one that had come over her at the World Cup when the players had entered the very box she had been sitting in. Then he was gone, and suddenly she could speak again, she just didn't want to.

All around her the students of Hogwarts were gushing over the arrival of Viktor Krum. Some sixth year girls were fighting to grab a tube of lipstick from each other so they could ask him to sign various body parts with it. Ron was gushing just as bad as the girls were and Evie could only think that if Oliver had been there that year he would have trampled many people to get to Krum. Reassessing the situation as she and her friends sat at their table, Evie resolved to not be one of those drooling fan girls.

Was it impressive that Viktor Krum played in the World Cup representing his country while still being in school? Absolutely. But was he really the best Seeker in the world? Debatable, but still quite possible. Would it be amazing to manage to get his autograph? There was no doubt that all of her fellow students would envy her greatly if she did. Was she going to stoop to mindless drooling and attempted fondling in order to get it? Absolutely not. Evie had more dignity than that. She probably wouldn't even bother to ask him for the autograph. Not to mention, she'd been very adamant to both Ron and Fred before the World Cup that Krum wasn't nearly as great as everyone thought he was. She would never live it down if she suddenly started trying desperately to get his autograph. She couldn't even use the excuse of getting it for Cedric since he was there and could ask for it himself if he wanted an autograph.

Shaking her mind free of that thought process, Evie finally had the chance to look around and see where the other two schools had sat themselves. Durmstrang was planted at the Slytherin table, with Krum sitting right across from Malfoy. She was not surprised they had made that choice, but she didn't like that Malfoy would have bragging rights for a while.

Beauxbatons had set itself up at the Ravenclaw table looking around glumly at the Great Hall. Evie was positive in that moment that she would not be enjoying the Beauxbatons students. All her fears were being proven with each moment that she glared at them. They were turning their noses up at her school. Just because Hogwarts wasn't frilly and dainty didn't mean they were any less worthy of respect from those prissy snobs. If the Durmstrang students could be impressed with Hogwarts why wasn't it good enough for the Beauxbatons lot?

Evie didn't get much more time to glare at the Beauxbatons students because the professors entered and situated themselves and Dumbledore began a speech. She turned her attention to him, expecting that there would be some further explanation about the Triwizard Tournament as the students had been promised since the other two schools had arrived.

Instead he just welcomed the schools. But when he said he hoped their stay would be comfortable and enjoyable, one of the three Beauxbatons girls still clutching a shawl to her head let out a derisive laugh. Evie felt the hatred bubbling up in her gut. She almost stood up and told the girl that if she didn't like it she could sod off because they didn't want her there anyway. However she realized that that would not make her school look any better and kept quiet.

When the food arrived Evie noticed that the House elves had prepared some special things for their guests. Ron didn't seem as excited to try the new dishes however.

"What is that?" He looked over the shellfish stew with a scrunched nose.

"It's Bouillabaisse," Hermione explained.

"Bless you," Ron nodded. Evie snorted. Harry tried to hold in a laugh.

"It's French," Hermione began explaining, but Ron was having none of that. He decided to just stick to what he knew. Evie, on the other hand, did try the dish and found it quite delicious.

About twenty minutes into the meal the Beauxbatons girl that had laughed during Dumbledore's speech walked up to their table to ask for their Bouillabaisse. She had finally removed her head coverings and it was revealed that she was a very attractive girl with long silvery-blonde hair that fell to her waist and big, blue eyes. Her accent was thick and it caused her trouble every time she tried to pronounce the 'th' noise. It instead came out sounding like a z.

"Actually, no I'm –" Evie began for no other reason than to keep it from her. She would have finished the sentence had Ron not stamped on her foot.

"Yeah, take it," Harry answered instead and Evie glared at him like he was a traitor. Then Evie watched as Ron, purple faced and near drooling, ogled the girl all the way back to the Ravenclaw table.

When she was gone Evie punched Ron hard in the arm, pulling him from his trance. "What the hell, Ronald?"

"She's a Veela!" He declared, rubbing his arm as though he didn't really feel it.

"Of course she isn't," Hermione snapped.

"And even if she is, that's not a good enough reason for you to stomp on my bloody foot!" Evie bit out.

Still ignoring her Ron asserted, "I'm telling you, that girl is not normal."

Their conversation about girls didn't last very long, because Hermione had turned everyone's attention back to the staff table. Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch, to the chagrin of Evie and Hermione, had just arrived and were sitting in the two empty seats at the staff table.

When dinner had finally finished Dumbledore stood again. The hall fell quite much quicker than it ever had before. Fred and George were giving Dumbledore so much attention they had begun leaning forward in their seats. Dumbledore introduced Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman. Then he went through explaining a bit more about the tournament. They learned that Crouch and Bagman would make up the remainder of the judging panel, and that there would be three tasks for the Champions to complete. With each statement somehow the crowd managed to get quieter.

Then he had Filch bring forth a jewel incrusted casket and they finally learned how the Champions would be chosen, The Goblet of Fire. Evie was shocked to find she was almost completely disappointed with the actual reveal of the goblet. It was, in practically every way, quite anticlimactic. The goblet was a simplistically carved wooden cup. The only thing that made anyone look twice at it was that it was full to the brim with dancing blue and white flames.

Champion hopefuls were given twenty-four hours to place their names in the goblet, which would be placed in the entrance hall all night. On Halloween, the very next night, the Goblet would decide which three students would be champions for their schools. Dumbledore then explained that an age line would be what prevented any underage students from entering the competition.

Fred and George started planning for how to get past the Age Line immediately as the group walked towards the entrance hall. Their eyes glinted mischievously. Hermione tried to talk them out of it, but they were adamant. Going so far as to try to rope Harry in as well, but when he was asked if he'd try Harry didn't answer. At first Evie thought he was politely trying to say he wouldn't, but as his eyes glazed over she began to doubt that she was right.

Ron ignored their conversation altogether, searching desperately for new ways to be closer to Krum. He got his wish when they all paused to let Karkaroff and the Durmstrang group pass the door to head back to their ship, which was where they would be sleeping.

The group almost passed with little acknowledgement to the four friends, but Karkaroff did a triple take when he saw Harry. There was a pregnant pause as he stared. Evie was once again reminded of just how well known her friend was. She often found his fame weird. She had, of course, grown up with the stories of Harry Potter defeating the bastard who was responsible for her mother's death, and admittedly she'd been star struck for about ten minutes when she'd met him. But then Harry had opened his mouth and she had realized he was just Harry, an annoying eleven year old who didn't even understand his own significance. Slowly she'd come to sort of forget he was famous and caused people to be star struck sometimes, especially since he could hardly get through his homework alone.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," Moody called from behind Karkaroff.

There was a moment between the two where it became painfully apparent that they knew each other from somewhere and were far from friendly. It was, uncomfortable to say the least. Evie thought about Durmstrang's reputation and wondered if that had something to do with how Moody and Karkaroff knew each other. She received no answers that night. Karkaroff swept his student away and she and her friends quickly made their way to their own common room and to bed.

Evie did not sleep well that night. Her dreams were marred with nightmarish scenarios in which Cedric became champion and was immediately mauled by all sorts of dangerous beasts. She was ashamed to admit at one point the beast mauling him was a werewolf. She awoke sweating and guilty. She almost had the urge to write Professor Lupin a letter and apologize for her subconscious depiction.

When she finally got up for the day to say she was not at her best would have been an understatement. When Hermione greeted her as chipper as ever Evie could only nod. She was grateful to find her best friend changed her attitude at once, seeming to understand the emotions swirling through Evie at that moment.

By the time the quartet made their way down to breakfast with the rest of the unusually large Saturday morning crowd the Goblet of Fire was set up. It was sitting in the middle of the entrance hall on the stool that usually held the Sorting Hat. Some twenty odd people were milling around the unassuming wooden goblet like it might do something fascinating at any moment. A few held the remnants of their breakfast; others were just watching and waiting. A thin gold line formed a circle ten feet around.

Walking over to join the crowd, they were informed by a third year that all of Durmstrang had put their names in. Harry made a comment about how he would have put his name in last night after everyone went to bed in case the Goblet coughed the name right back out, then there was a laugh coming from behind them and they turned to find Fred, George, and their best friend Lee Jordan rushing down the stairs triumphantly.

"Done it," Fred smiled at the four of them. "We just took it."

"Took what?" Ron asked.

"The Aging Potion," George rolled his eyes. "A drop each."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons if one of us wins," Lee was smiling.

"I'm not sure that's –" Hermione started, but Evie grabbed her arm to cut her off mid-sentence. When Hermione looked at her in confusion, Evie smiled and shook her head.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to what happens when younger students try to cross the line?"

"What if they succeed?" Hermione reprimanded.

"Do you really think they're going to?" Evie gave Hermione a pointed look. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Besides it's too late to stop them now," Evie pointed to where Fred, and then George had crossed the Age Line.

They watched as a sizzling noise filled the hall and then the twins were thrown from the circle. They flew a good ten feet away and landed painfully on the floor. Evie cringed a bit at sound. Hermione began to turn to point out that she had been right when a popping noise brought their attention back to the twins, who had just acquired matching long white beards.

The hall erupted into fits of laughter. Hermione turned to Evie red-faced from laughing so hard. "You were right. This is much better than stopping them." Evie could not speak; all she could manage was a nod as she continued laughing.

When Fred and George had run off to the Hospital Wing arguing, and Lee had followed behind laughing so hard he could hardly walk, Evie and her friends finally made their way to the Great Hall for food. The decor was no longer showing off the school. As it was Halloween, Hogwarts was decorated accordingly with live bats and carved pumpkins. They ended up sitting next to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing who might enter.

"There's a rumor the Warrington might enter," Dean told them once they were seated and eating. "He's that big Slytherin who looks like a sloth."

Evie turned to see Warrington. He did indeed look rather sloth like and dimwitted. She highly doubted the Goblet would pick him. Though he was a Quidditch player and that could mean he wasn't as dimwitted as he looked. Then again, he wasn't very good at it.

"We can't have a Slytherin champion!" Harry nearly shouted.

"All the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," Seamus seemed to speak before he realized what he was saying. His face instantly went from one of contempt to one of embarrassment.

Evie rounded on him instantly. "I take it you won't be supporting my brother, Finnigan?"

"Well, I mean…of course I would if he was picked, I just…" Seamus looked around for help but Dean seemed too busy trying not to laugh and Harry and Ron were staring at Evie in fear. "I just think it might be nice to have a Gryffindor enter as well." His explanation fizzled out in desperation. His face was positively red and Evie couldn't help the smirk that bloomed on her lips as she watched how he squirmed.

"You seem to have traded explosions for a new hobby," She stated simply. When Seamus looked at her confused she answered his unasked question. "Putting your foot in your mouth. You really should come up with better hobbies, Seamus; I'd hate to have to curse that pretty face."

Seamus gulped, then muttered something about seeing them all later and rushed off. Dean, still laughing, followed with a jovial wave. When they were gone Evie could feel her own face growing hot as she realized that she's just told Seamus his face was pretty. She desperately hoped he did not notice that part.

"Oh, don't be too miffed, Evie," Ron said, misinterpreting her red face. "You know Seamus didn't mean anything by what he said."

Hermione was smiling knowingly at her friend as she looked back up. Evie hated that smile, but she also really wanted Hermione to bring it up so she didn't have to. Before their conversation went any further, however, a cheer could be heard outside the Hall and they turned to see Angelina Johnson walking in smiling but blushing.

"Well I've done it. Just put my name in!" She smiled as she sat down on Harry's other side.

"I didn't know you were seventeen already." Harry turned to her.

"I had my birthday last week."

"Well it's nice to see someone from Gryffindor entering," Hermione smiled diplomatically.

"Yeah, good luck, Angelina," Evie added.

"Thanks," Angelina smiled, completely missing the shocked looks Evie received from both Harry and Ron.

They finished breakfast quickly after that and then left the Great Hall to loiter around the Goblet, watching random upperclassmen enter their names. Then an usually large group of Hogwarts students caught their attention. In the center of the group was Cedric. Evie's stomach knotted up immediately.

Cedric scanned the Entrance Hall and when he saw her he smiled and held up a small scrap of paper. Evie was unable to move. She only managed a forced smile in return. Pushed forward by the crowd of adoring Hufflepuffs, Cedric crossed the Age Line and placed his name in the Goblet. There was a loud cheer, and Evie felt the weight of a hand on her shoulder.

"He's a very intelligent and capable wizard, Evie." Turning to Hermione's reassuring face, Evie tried to smile with confidence but couldn't quite manage it.

"He probably won't get it anyway," Ron offered. Harry and Hermione both turned to glare at Ron. "What?"

"What do you guys want to do today?" Evie sighed. She knew Ron was just trying to be helpful, but nothing was going to make her feel better at the moment.

"We haven't seen Hagrid in a while," Harry shrugged. After a bit of teasing about his Blast-Ended Skrewts the quartet made their way down to Hagrid's Hut.

When Hagrid opened the door the group got quite a surprise. He was dressed up, or at least that's what Evie thought he might be doing. He was wearing a hairy brown suit, an orange and yellow checkered tie, and his hair was slicked down in two giant bunches with what appeared to be grease. The quartet was at a loss for words for a moment before Hermione spoke up and brought them all back to their sense.

Inside the hut was homey as usual. Hagrid's was one of Evie's favorite places at Hogwarts, even though it was often home to not only the gentle giant and his cowardly dog, but also some of the most dangerous magical creatures in the world. Inside the one room hut was usually untouched by Hagrid's dangerous pets, though.

Hagrid was in a very excited mood. He seemed just as infatuated as the students with the tournament. He was definitely more excited than most of the professors. Evie's plan to be distracted was failing miserably. After a while of listening to Harry, Ron and Hermione try to get Hagrid to tell them what the tasks were, she finally decided to leave.

"Yer goin'?" Hagrid asked sadly.

"Yeah, I've got loads of homework to do." She tried to laugh it off, but it sounded fake even to her ears.

"Evie, I've known yeh three years now. Wha's goin' on? Yer not soundin' like yerself," Hagrid pressed.

"Evie's brother has put his name in the Goblet." Harry explained.

"Oh tha's it, is it?" Hagrid looked at Evie knowingly. "Yer worried 'bout yer brother?" Evie nodded. "Evie, I've watched yeh fight all sorts o' beasts fer three years now. Yeh've always come ou' the other end stronger than ever. An' yer brother is jus' as smart. I've seen 'em. Don' you worry, I know wha' them tasks are, and I'm sure he'll be jus' fine."

Feeling a little better, Evie accepted the hug Hagrid was offering. She always felt so very small around Hagrid, and getting a hug from him was like getting a hug from a giant teddy bear. Or, at that very moment, a giant, hairy teddy bear that smelled like some weird musky cologne.

By the time the group left Hagrid's it was getting dark and dinner was fast approaching. None of them wanted to miss the Halloween feast, or the choosing of the Champions. Evie was a ball of nerves the whole way to the Great Hall. While everyone was still settling into seats she walked towards the Hufflepuff table. Spotting Cedric was easy, but making her way to him was hard. Her legs moved shakily and her palms were sweaty. She tried to calm her nerves before she actually caught his attention.

"H-hey!" Evie smiled.

"Hey," Cedric answered, turning to greet her. "So, this is it."

"Yeah," Evie was at a loss for words for a moment. "Good luck, not that you need it."

"Evie, I know you're worried," Cedric raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, but I'm also being supportive. Remember, you said that's what you wanted."

"But you don't have to lie to me."

"I can lie and be supportive or I can be honest and it's going to get really unsupportive rather quickly."

"Alright, lying is good," Cedric joked. Evie didn't laugh though. "I'm going to be fine. You have to trust me."

"I do trust you."

"Good, then don't forget to cheer when they call my name." At this Evie did chuckle a little.

"Yeah, alright. Don't get cocky now, or it'll be really embarrassing if they don't call your name."

Cedric laughed. "Alright, you better get seated the feast is about to begin."

Evie hardly ate anything the entire feast. She mostly just pushed food around her plate. Part way through Seamus slid up to her and caught her attention. "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean to –"

"Seamus, don't worry about it. I was just messing with you," Evie smiled, cutting him off from having to apologize further. Seamus sighed in relief. He then smiled, nodded and slid back to his spot next to Dean.

"You've really got a thing for all the Irishmen, haven't you?" Hermione whispered so Harry and Ron wouldn't hear.

Evie blushed crimson. "Shuddup," she mumbled. Hermione just smiled.

By the end of dinner the Goblet of Fire was sitting near Dumbledore. Or perhaps it had been there all night and Evie had been too nervous to notice. Fred and George showed up for dinner beard free, but a bit sulky. They were clearly hoping that Angelina's name was pulled. At the Head's table Hagrid was flirting with Madame Maxime. Suddenly his ridiculous outfit made perfect sense.

When the plates finally disappeared Evie wished there were at least three more courses. But Dumbledore stood and signaled it was time to find out who the champions would be. There was a tense and excited silence in the Hall.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore began. Then he explained, in the remaining minute the Goblet needed, what the Champions were to do when their names were called. Then, with a great sweeping motion, Dumbledore extinguished all the candles except the ones in the giant carved pumpkins. The brightest light in the hall became the Goblet, which let off a creepy bluish-white glow.

In an instant, the flames inside the Goblet turned red and sparks flew. From the flames a charred piece of parchment was spat into the air. The hall was filled with shocked gasps. Evie held her breath. Dumbledore caught the piece of paper easily and read it aloud by the light of the flames, which were blue again.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum." Applause rang out in the hall, though Evie was sure nobody was surprised by that choice.

When the clapping had died down and Krum had disappeared behind the door where the champions were supposed to wait for their next instructions, the Goblet turned red once more. Another name was shot forth and once again Dumbledore caught it.

"The champion for Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour." The girl who had annoyed Evie the night before and turned Ron into a drooling fool stood from the Ravenclaw table. Evie rolled her eyes, but then smiled at the mess the rest of the Beauxbatons students were upon realizing they would not be representing their school.

Once Fleur had also disappeared and the cheers had once again died down, there was a pause before the last name came forth. The pause felt like an eternity for Evie. Her heart hammered against her ribcage. Her breathing became labored and her hands were shaking slightly. Anybody else might mistake her for being the one with a name in the Goblet.

The red flames started again and the final name popped out. "The champion for Hogwarts will be," Evie stopped breathing. "Cedric Diggory."

The contradiction between how she'd felt up until that point and how she felt in the moment were startling. The contradiction of feelings that were enveloping her in that very moment were startling. She was terrified, but even through that terror she felt pride. Evie was proud that the Goblet felt her brother was worthy of being the Hogwarts champion. She was proud, scared and overwhelmed as the Hufflepuff cheers shook the hall the entire time Cedric made the long walk to the door for the champions.

When the cheers from the Hufflepuff table finally calmed down Dumbledore began speaking again. "We now have our three champions. I'm sure I can count on all of you to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on –"

Suddenly the Goblet's flames turned red again. The entire hall froze in shock and confusion. Even Dumbledore didn't seem to understand what was going on as another charred piece of parchment flew from the mouth of the Goblet. Automatically Dumbledore reached forth and grabbed the paper. The hall was silent as they watched Dumbledore stare at whatever name was written on it. Then, as though not seeing what else he could do, Dumbledore read out the name.

"Harry Potter."


	16. Chapter 16

"He didn't, did he? He wouldn't." Evie's eyes darted from Hermione then Ron then Ginny then Neville, trying to find anyone who might be able to answer her.

All around her there were different looks on different faces. Scared, impressed, confused, shocked, and angry. There were many, many angry faces. Evie wasn't sure which emotion she should cling to, but shock was the only one that made sense in that moment so, holding on to that, she turned to the one person who could usually help her through.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?" Hermione's eyes met hers and Evie knew their faces mirrored each other. A pit opened in Evie's stomach and swallowed all hope into it.

Her lungs began to feel too small. Her heart raced. Shock was subsiding but the fear that replaced it was no better. The Great Hall was too loud. The Hufflepuffs were on their feet yelling. The Hufflepuffs! Evie had never seen a single one of them so furious. To her back the silent seething of the Ravenclaws sent waves of heat over her and set the hairs on the back of her neck on end.

Suddenly, through the outrage, Evie heard a familiar voice. Professor Dumbledore was silencing the crowd. She could only discern that much by how quiet the Hall became. His voice rang out but his words were foreign. There was water rushing past Evie's ears and it made everything Dumbledore said jumbled and distant.

Begrudgingly students to her left and right began to stand. Evie stayed seated and stared at her friends in confusion. Hermione placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and guided Evie from the Great Hall. Had she not known the way to Gryffindor Tower by heart, Evie was not sure she would've made it there.

In front of her, beside her, surrounding her like a blanket, were the emotions of her fellow Gryffindors. Fred, George and Lee were baffled; Ron was silently fuming on one side of her and Hermione and Ginny fretting on the other. As the shock wore off the Gryffindor crowd, Evie was surprised to find it seemed to be getting replaced by excitement.

In the common room a party started forming as the levels of excitement continued to grow. All around her, people were speculating on how Harry managed to get his name in the Goblet. Some were saying he bribed someone, others were saying he must have found some sort of spell.

"I'm going to bed," Ron mumbled to Hermione and Evie before stalking off. The two girls watched him go with matching worried looks on their faces.

"Did he seem angry to you?" Hermione turned to Evie, who nodded.

She was finally getting over her shock. She watched Ron go and realized she didn't feel his anger was completely misplaced. She was a bit angry to find Harry's name had been called. She didn't have time to worry about Harry and Cedric. But she did wonder where Ron's anger was coming from.

"I'm not really feeling celebratory either."

"No, and who knows how long it will take Harry to get back. I think we ought to get some sleep and confront all of this in the morning." Hermione suggested.

The two girls slipped away from the jovial gathering completely unnoticed. They changed in silence, and it was only after they had settled in that either broke the heavy silence that had fallen over them.

"You didn't think he was really going to do it, did you?" Evie turned over to face Hermione.

"Of course not! And I don't think he did," Hermione responded. When Evie remained quiet Hermione spoke again, "Surely you don't believe Harry did this himself?"

"Well, part of me doesn't, but even you have to admit it crossed your mind."

"It did not!"

"Not even for the faintest of seconds?" Hermione bit her lip guiltily. "Exactly. Look, I'm not saying I think Harry would be so stupid as to put his name in the Goblet, and obviously I don't believe he could've figured out how to, but _that's_ the main reason I don't think he did." Hermione looked as though she might cut in so Evie quickly continued, "Honestly, Hermione, are you going to pretend you didn't see his eyes glaze over when the boys talked about the tournament?"

"Well, no, but –"

"I don't think he did it. I really don't, but I can't say I don't have doubts that he didn't." Evie sighed and shook her head at her jumbled words before trying again, "I won't make any decisions until we talk to him tomorrow, and if he says he didn't do it I'll believe him, but I spent all year trying to talk Cedric out of this, now that he's in it I have to stand beside him." Evie hoped her tone made it clear to Hermione what she was saying. If Harry had to compete, and Evie dearly hoped he didn't, but if he did he would have to do it without her by his side.

"I'm sure he'll understand," Hermione offered.

"We've known Harry for three years. Do you honestly think he'll understand?" Evie chuckled dryly.

"I hope so," Hermione sighed.

The next morning Evie woke up somehow still tired. Sighing, she dressed slowly and went down to greet Hermione, whom she had assumed would be the only one of her friends up so early. She was shocked to find Ron was also awake, and apparently didn't feel like waiting for Harry to go to breakfast.

Evie and Hermione shared worried looks, but walked down to breakfast with Ron. Most of the Gryffindor table was still in high spirits, though Evie could not help but notice that the rest of the houses were glaring in their direction. It made it very hard to feel hungry at all.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Evie finally asked, after resigning herself to not eating.

"Why does everything happen to him?" It burst forth like he'd been holding it in for years. "I'm always on the sidelines, always second best! This was the one year we would be watching together from the sidelines and he couldn't accept that."

"That's not fair, Ron. I'm sure Harry didn't put his name in," Hermione began to chastise but Evie shook her head at her friend. While Hermione was looking at Evie in confusion Ron took the opportunity to continue.

"It doesn't matter anyway," he sighed in defeat. "Nobody will ever look at me the way they look at him."

"You don't know that, Ron," Evie tried to console.

"Don't I?" He looked back disbelieving. "Harry will always be the hero, and I'm always going to be a consolation prize." He was silent after that, not eating, just pushing around his food. It was the first time Evie had ever seen Ron turn down food.

Hermione grabbed a stack of toast and stood from the table. Evie stood as well, calling to Ron that they would be back. He barely lifted his head in acknowledgement. Sighing sadly, she rushed after Hermione who had been quick to leave the Great Hall.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't think Harry's going to want to eat breakfast in there this morning. Also, we really need to check up on him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've been waiting to talk to him since we heard his name called."

"You aren't going to ask him if he put his name in, are you?" Hermione stopped not too far from the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Why shouldn't I? I want to hear him say it wasn't him, and I'll bet you do too," Evie replied indignantly.

"Yes, but things didn't go well between him and Ron," Hermione pointed out. "Speaking of, why did you stop me earlier?"

"Ron needed to get his feelings off his chest. You telling him he was wrong wouldn't have made things any better. He's been dealing with this his whole life, and he's finally breaking down about it. We just need to let him feel what he's feeling and deal with it."

"What about him and Harry? Are we just supposed to let them fight?"

Evie shrugged. "Have you got a better idea?"

"Yes, we should force them to talk it out."

"You are such an only child, Hermione," Evie shook her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Forcing them to talk it out is a terrible idea. Siblings fight like this all the time and when they are ready they get over it and hug it out."

"Harry and Ron aren't brothers, Evie," Hermione looked at her friend like she'd gone crazy.

"They might as well be."

There was no more argument after that. Right as they reached the Fat Lady Harry was climbing out of the common room. He nearly crashed into Hermione. She held up the pile of toast and offered it to him and then offered him an escape from the Great Hall as well, both of which he accepted gratefully. They walked in silence for the most part. Every so often Evie tried to work up the courage to ask the question she desperately wanted to, but she kept stopping herself.

_So much for being a Gryffindor_. She chastised herself silently. Then the doubt settled in her stomach again. Every time her courage escaped her, she thought back to the Sorting and wondered if the Hat had gotten it wrong. The things he said still echoed in her head some nights and she never understood why she was the one the Hat had gotten his information wrong about.

As they quickened their pace past the Great Hall, Evie shook herself free of her thoughts. Outside it was practically empty. Most students were at breakfast or sleeping in. As the trio made their way towards the lake Hermione finally broke the silence.

"So, are they going to make you compete?"

"Yeah. Ludo Bagman said it was a binding magical contract. No way they could get me out of it," Harry sighed.

"You didn't put your name in, did you?" Evie finally asked.

"How can you even ask that?" Harry snapped instantly.

"It's just a question, Harry. I think I've earned the right to ask you these things," Evie bit back.

"First Ron and now you," Harry scoffed.

"Well, it's not like it's the craziest idea in the world. We all saw how your eyes glazed over every time you talked about the tournament. And you not answering me isn't helping your case right now." Evie's temper was beginning to flare.

"No, I didn't do it!"

"Fine!"

There was silence for a moment as Evie and Harry just glared at each other. Then, as Harry registered what Evie had said, his anger dissipated. "You believe me?" His shoulders sagged a bit.

"Of course I believe you, you temperamental prat," Evie rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I just needed to ask."

Harry went pink in the ears as he realized his mistake. "Sorry," he mumbled, bowing his head.

Evie sighed as her own annoyance evaporated. A smile tugged at the right side of her face as she observed his honest remorse. "S'alright, I suppose. But don't you lose your temper on my like that again, Harry Potter. You're not the only one dealing with things right now," Evie pointed her finger at him, letting him know she meant business. He nodded in understanding.

"You know your brother doesn't believe I didn't put my name up," He added, as if just remembering something that had happened the night before.

"No, I don't imagine he would," Evie smiled. "Speaking of him, I should really go find him. I guess I ought to congratulate him properly or something like that."

"Tell him I said good luck as well," Hermione offered encouragingly.

With a wave, Evie rushed off back towards the castle where she nearly ran straight into Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. Evie had managed to avoid any sort of altercation with Pansy all year, perhaps because she had been busy dealing with Triwizard fever, but it seemed that was finally over. Cursing her terrible luck, Evie prepared herself for the inevitable clash.

"Diggory," Pansy sneered.

"Pug face," Evie smiled, not in the mood to try to rise above.

"Looks like the bloodtraitor is strong in you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Siding with Potter over your own brother? At least we Slytherins are loyal to our families."

"You don't know anything," Evie snapped.

"We saw you out there by the lake with him. And you were sitting at the Gryffindor table earlier," Daphne accused.

"What are you stalking me now?"

"Oh, please, don't flatter yourself," Pansy snorted. Evie smirked thinking she sounded exactly like a pig. "You're so pathetic, grasping for fame and fortune from the bottom of the totem pole."

"Ha! Says the girl who clings to Malfoy's coattails praying he'll notice her."

"We're dating," Pansy defended.

"Does he know that?" Evie pretended to whisper worriedly.

"Don't you talk to me like that, you plug-ugly slag," Pansy bit out and Evie clinched her jaw trying not to tear up in front of the other three girls.

"What's going on over here?" A sudden voice of authority caused all four to jump. They turned to see Cedric had come up at some point during their argument.

"Nothing." The three Slytherins tried to lie, but the tight set line that was his mouth let them know he'd heard enough to know that wasn't true.

"Are you okay?" He turned his attention to his sister, but at the look on her face Cedric's jaw tightened. "The three of you will be enjoying two days of detention starting tomorrow, and I'll be reporting what I heard to a Head of House with the suggestion that House points be taken. I recommend you move on without another word before I change that detention to three days." His voice was eerily calm and no one dared argue with him.

Pansy, Daphne and Millicent walked off silently seething. Evie watched them go, blinking back tears and smiling halfheartedly in triumph. When she turned to her brother, his own anger was gone and on his face was the concern she so often saw.

"Are you okay?" He repeated. She nodded earnestly, but he seemed to see right through her. "You know you shouldn't let them get to you."

"I'm not," Evie shrugged, biting her lip to stop it from trembling.

"Don't lie to me."

"She called me plug-ugly," Evie frowned.

"The other part isn't what upsets you?" Cedric raised an eyebrow.

"There's no basis for that, she was just being hateful…but she called me ugly."

Suddenly, Cedric started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Evie snapped.

"That girl looks like someone pressed her face up against glass, and you're upset that she called you ugly?" a smile tugged at the corners of Evie's mouth. "Exactly, that girl has no right to call anyone ugly, especially not you. I mean, you are a Diggory. We happen to be a very attractive bunch." Cedric's voice dripped with phony narcissism and Evie's smile grew wider.

"Thanks."

"What are big brothers for?" Cedric shrugged with a grin.

"Apparently doling out detentions. Two days? When did you become so ruthless?"

"Nobody messes with my sister but me," Cedric smiled while he was saying it, but Evie got the idea that he was serious and it warmed her heart. "So, you were talking to Harry?" Cedric started walking and Evie fell into step right alongside him.

"Yeah. Congratulations, by the way. Hermione told me to tell you good luck."

"Thanks," Cedric blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Tell Hermione I said thanks as well." Evie nodded, smiling at her brother's reaction. "Did he tell you how he did it?"

Evie was taken aback by Cedric's sudden question. "He didn't."

"That's what he told you?"

"Yes."

"And you believe that?"

"Of course I do."

"Just because he said he didn't doesn't mean he didn't."

"Harry wouldn't lie to me about something like that. Besides, that's not the only reason I believe him." Cedric looked to Evie questioningly as they walked towards the courtyard. A few students were roaming the hall at that point and most of them were calling out words of encouragement to Cedric. Evie always appreciated that even though her brother would acknowledge the people who greeted him, she always had his full attention when they were spending time together. "Come on, Cedric. Do you honestly think Harry would be smart enough to figure out how to get past the Age Line? I mean Fred and George couldn't figure it out, so I doubt Harry would have."

"He could have bribed an older student."

"And who in this school would have been powerful enough to make the Goblet forget there were only three schools?"

"Fair enough," Cedric shrugged. "I just don't see the point in someone doing this."

"I have a good idea."

"You're starting to sound like Professor Moody," Cedric chuckled.

"And you know he's got a point." Evie paused and bit her lip again before working up the nerve to ask what she wanted to. "I need to ask you a favor, and it might not be fair."

"You know you can ask me anything," Cedric turned to Evie in concern. They had finally made it to the courtyard and were sitting on a bench in the sunlight to capture as much heat as they could.

"Will you look out for him? If you can, I mean." Cedric looked surprised by the request. "I'm not asking you to cheat or anything, I just mean that he's so much younger than the rest of you and he won't know that many spells. If you can help him out a bit if he's in real trouble, will you look out for him?"

There was a quiet moment between the siblings as Cedric contemplated her request. The moment stretched so long that Evie began to think she'd asked too much of him. "I'll look out for him," Cedric finally agreed.

"Thank you," Evie sighed, a bit more relieved about the situation. "So, do you know what your first task will be?"

"No, we won't find out until the day of the task."

"What, why?"

"It's meant to test our daring. They said it's so we can prove we've got courage in the face of the unknown."

"The only thing this is testing is my nerves," Evie sighed in frustration.

"At least you aren't actually facing whatever it is," Cedric chuckled.

"No, I just have to watch two people I care about face it with absolutely no ability to help them."

"It's hard isn't it?" Cedric smiling knowingly at her.

"I can't believe I've put you through this for three years," Evie sighed apologetically.

"It wasn't so bad, since I only ever found out after the fact."

"Have you talked to Cho? Is she excited for you?"

"Yeah, I think so," Cedric nodded with a soft sigh as he thought of his girlfriend. "I mean, she's worried like you, but she's proud of me."

"I'm proud of you too, just so you know," Evie almost whispered with a smile. "I was surprised how proud I felt when I heard your name called last night. I'd been so busy worrying, but when I heard your name…I was just so proud that my brother was going to be the Champion of Hogwarts. I guess I realized that I had been so worried because I never doubted you were going to be named Champion."

"Thanks, Evie," Cedric whispered back.

"When's the first task, anyway?" Evie shrugged off the heavy emotion that had settled over them.

"The end of November. The twenty-fourth to be exact."

"Well, we've got time at least. I wonder what the next few weeks are going to be like."

The very next day Evie got her answer. The morning Herbology lesson was uncomfortable, to say the least. Hufflepuffs were surprisingly ruthless when they felt an unjust incident had occurred. There was an obvious separation between the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs and apparently Evie had done something just as bad as Harry, if not worse.

"Good morning, Hannah," she had greeted as she usually did, except that she was met with a cold silence for the normally friendly girl. Evie knit her brows together at the chilly reaction. "Um…are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hannah replied curtly.

Evie made the executive decision to not attempt conversation with the Hufflepuff for the rest of the lesson. She had her own issues to worry about anyway. Harry and Ron were still not talking and Hermione was trying her hardest to get them to hold an actual conversation. By the end of the lesson, two things were clear. The first was that the Hufflepuffs were angry and the second was that Harry and Ron would not be making up over night.

The next lesson was not much better, but at least Evie finally got some understanding as to why the Hufflepuffs had been so cold to her during Herbology. It didn't take two second for Malfoy to start in on Harry, and at the same time Parkinson was smirking evilly at her.

"What are you smiling about?"

"How did Herbology with the Hufflepuffs go?"

"Why do you care?" Evie's question was guarded and slow. Pansy never asked something she didn't already know the answer to; Evie had always supposed it was because she didn't want to make herself look any stupider.

"I was just wondering if they were as understanding as your brother? I mean, you know the 'Puffs are about loyalty, so I'll bet they took it pretty hard when they heard you'd be supporting Potter over your own brother," Pansy shook her head.

"What did you do?" Evie bit out.

"I just warned them that you might not be as loyal as they thought...and by them I mean I told as many people as I could and just let the rumor circulate," Pansy giggled and shrugged. Beside her Daphne and Milicent were joining in. Evie could've cursed the girl into oblivion if it weren't for the lesson starting.

By the end of the day Evie was very much sure that the Triwizard Tournament had been the worst idea the school had had in a long time. It was almost as bad as the Forbidden Forest detention in first year, except nobody was calling her a traitor then. She would have argued back, if it weren't for the fact that Cedric knew she supported him, and his opinion of her was the only one that really mattered.

The next few days were painful for Evie, but she dealt with the looks and whispered accusations in silence. Harry was definitely dealing with worse and she couldn't bring herself to complain. To be honest she wasn't surprised at the backlash Harry received. Most students didn't actually know what it was like to be him, or his friend and had no idea how terrible it actual was saving the school or people's lives every year. They heard the aftermath really, all the praise and points, but when you're in the thick of it almost dying you don't really care about the praise or points, you're just happy to be alive.

On the other side of it though, as Evie watched Ron continue to work through his feelings on the situation, she could understand how it was annoying that though they risked their lives just as much, Harry seemed to be the only one who was ever talked about. Evie was a bit ashamed to admit that on the bad days she was happy it wasn't her, but on the good days she did feel under appreciated. Sometimes not just by the whole school, but by Harry himself. He had a habit of whining like he was alone even when she, Ron and Hermione were by his side.

In Charms Harry was still not getting the hang of his Summoning Charm. Evie had stopped putting her face in the way of his cushion and was simply trying to get him to concentrate. She had offered to help him first because she had thought he would be easier to work with than Neville. But she was beginning to think she'd overestimated his abilities.

She knew he had come to her because Charms was her best subject and she ahead of everyone in their year in it, but Evie often found it hard to understand how people didn't pick it up as quickly as she did. Sighing at Harry's umpteenth failed attempt, she tried to gather her patience. "This isn't as hard as you're making it, Harry. You just weren't concentrating properly."

"Yes, I wonder why that is," He glared as Cedric walked by with a gaggle of girls at his coattails. He seemed increasingly uncomfortable with their affections and Evie guessed that Cho most certainly would not be happy either. He waved to them awkwardly as he passed and Evie returned it, sending him an apologetic look.

The girls turned to see who he was waving to and shot Harry and Evie death glares. Evie was still taken aback by the amount of hate she had been receiving. She turned her attention away from them quickly and narrowed her eyes at Harry.

"It's hardly his fault they chase after him. It's not like he wants that."

"Yes, I'm sure he'd rather be on my end of things."

"Stop blaming him for this. It's not his fault your name came out of the Goblet, and he most certainly doesn't support all the hate you've been getting," Evie's tone held a note of finality that Harry had learned long ago not to challenge.

Instead they made their way to Double Potions where they met up outside of the classroom with Hermione, who had walked with Ron, and the Slytherins. They were sporting new badges, on which bright red words urged students to support Cedric, 'the REAL Hogwarts Champion'.

"Oh, that's new," Evie grimaced at the buttons.

When the Slytherins noticed Harry's arrival, Malfoy wasted no time taunting him, showing him the buttons and then pressing them to show that once they are pressed the original message disappears and in its place appears the text, 'Potter Stinks' in bright green. Evie sighed as she watched Pansy and the other Slytherins behind Malfoy snickering as they, too, pressed their buttons and the words 'Potter Stinks' practically surrounded them.

"Oh very funny. Really witty," Hermione snapped sarcastically as she glared at Pansy and the other Slytherin girls. The situation was pretty much how every other meeting between a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors went, except Ron was not by Harry's side. Then Malfoy offered Hermione a button and called her that filthy word again. Harry seemed to have lost his cool completely wiping out his wand and shoot a curse at Malfoy. Malfoy responded at the same time and their hexes met in midair and bounced off each other. Harry's hit Goyle, who broke into gross boils and Malfoy's hit Hermione.

Evie and Ron were at her side in a minute, though Evie knew exactly what Malfoy's hex had done. She watched in horror as her best friend's front teeth grew larger by the minute. Pansy and the Slytherin girls were doubled over howling in laughter when they saw what had happened. Hermione whimpered in horror and Evie pulled out her wand to attempt a counter curse at that precise moment Professor Snape came up.

"Explain," he ordered Malfoy, to no one's surprise.

"Potter attacked me –"

"We attacked each other!" Harry amended.

"– and he got Goyle in the face –" Snape took one look at Goyle's boil infested face and sent him to the Hospital Wing.

"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron forced Hermione to show Snape her steadily growing teeth, which were beginning to pass the collar of her blouse and becoming increasing harder to hide.

"I see no difference." Snape stated dryly.

Hermione whimpered again as tears formed in her eyes and she turned and ran away. Evie turned back to glare at Snape who had just taken fifty points from Gryffindor and given Harry and Ron detention. Evie was not really paying attention to him however, as she had also turned, grabbed hold of Hermione's bag which had dropped from her shoulder when she'd been hit with the hex and was starting down the corridor after her.

"If you take one more step, Diggory, you'll be joining Potter and Weasley in detention," Snape said in such a cold voice Evie paused for a moment. But her hatred for the Potions professor had reached its absolute peak and the fire she felt in her veins could not be stifled in that moment.

She turned slowly, shaking with rage. She met his gaze without the slightest waver, and for just an instant he actually seemed shocked by her bravado. "Then I suppose I'll see you in detention."

The statement was directed at Harry and Ron but she never took her eyes off Snape. She had spoken her words with such malice she had hardly separated her teeth. Then she turned just as slowly as she had before and walked, purposefully to prove she did not fear Snape, down the corridor and towards the Hospital Wing.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I posted the first chapter of a prequel showing Evie's life growing up in the Wizarding World before Hogwarts, as well as a few moments from the first three books. It won't be very long, I'm expecting no more than 10 but probably closer to 6 chapters. It will answer some of the questions I've gotten about this story.**

* * *

By the time she reached the Hospital Wing, her anger had dissipated and was replaced with the growing fear of the absolutely mad thing she'd just done. Snape had surely deserved her anger for what he'd said to Hermione. He had absolutely deserved her anger for the things he did everyday to her housemates, and every other house that was not Slytherin. For three years Evie had silently seethed as she watched him turn Neville into a puddle of fear, so much so that Neville's Boggart had been Snape. For three years he had unfairly attacked Harry for the fame he held, which was hardly his fault. For three years he had made both Hermione and Evie feel that no matter how smart they were it was never smart enough, all the while showering Malfoy with praise for his mediocre potions skills.

Pausing in her internal rant Evie clearly heard Cedric's voice reprimanding her for that last statement. Begrudgingly she conceded, but only in the sanctity of her mind, that Malfoy was actually better at Potions than she or Hermione. But, Snape still never gave them credit where credit was due and that was her point. He had deserved every bit of anger and hatred she had thrown his way. The real problem was that she had been very, very foolish.

She would suffer greatly for her flagrant disregard of his command. She had flat out challenged him. It was by far the most reckless thing she'd ever done. Yes, the panic was settling into her chest nicely. She couldn't even be bothered to worry about how painful detention with her arguing male best friends would be. She had to worry about Snape not poisoning her next class in order to teach her a lesson.

"What are you doing here?" Madam Pomfrey questioned, pulling Evie from her thoughts.

"Is Hermione alright?"

"Evie?" Hermione sat up from her bed, but because of her situation it sounded more like she said 'e-fee'. Her teeth were, at least, shrinking steadily, though they were still well past her chest. Evie sighed in relief; not that she ever doubted Madam Pomfrey's abilities. The mediwitch had gotten her through more scrapes than she could count. "Why aren't you in class?" Evie guessed that was the question because it had come out sounding much closer to 'wa arn sue in clash'.

"You're going to be very upset when I tell you what I've done," she sighed, hoping Hermione and Madam Pomfrey would not joint lecture her.

She was not so lucky. Hermione lectured her so long her teeth were halfway back to normal by the time she finished. Evie sat in silence for a moment, somewhere between struggling not to laugh at the sound of giant toothed Hermione fussing at her and allowing the guilt of her poor decision making to wash over her. Hermione had the sort of effect on her Cedric often did. It was the unbelievable ability to make her feel guilty even if she stood by her actions.

"You know, there is an upside to my detention," Evie spoke cautiously.

"What on Earth could possibly be the upside to getting detention?" There was much less guess work on Evie's part as Hermione's teeth got smaller.

"Harry and Ron have also got detention. I can try to get them to talk."

"I – that's not really…fine." Hermione warred with her feelings as she spoke.

Evie could tell part of her wanted to fuss more, but she also really wanted Harry and Ron to get over their issues. Evie wished for a moment she were a better person and felt guilty for once again trying to prevent Hermione from reprimanding her. She always seemed to be working very hard to make or keep Evie a good person; Evie was never sure which.

By the time the girls were released from the Hospital Wing dinner was half way over. They walked down quickly to grab something so they would not sleep on empty stomachs. Harry and Ron were no longer there, so they sat down beside Ginny and Neville.

"I can't believe you stood up to Snape like that," Neville turned to Evie wide eyed.

"Hello to you, too. How was class after I...err…left?" Evie stumbled and blushed lightly.

"Colin came for Harry. Said all the Champions had to have their pictures taken and some such stuff," Dean hopped in from Ginny's other side.

"Snape was not happy about that. We thought he was going to lose it," Seamus smiled.

"Yes, well I can't imagine that improved Ron's mood any," Hermione looked pointedly at Evie.

"Oh, is Ron in a foul mood? I hadn't noticed," Ginny rolled her eyes and grinned at her. "Why are you so worried, anyhow? He'll get over it soon and they'll be right back to the way they were."

Hearing Ginny say the same thing she had earlier made Evie feel incredibly validated. She turned to shoot a smug look at Hermione.

"Oh yes, be smug all you want now, but we'll see who's laughing after your detention." The smirk dropped from Evie's face quickly.

"That's not just cruel, that was unnecessary," she stared pointedly at her best friend, who seemed not the least bit sorry. That was the worst thing about Hermione, she felt no remorse when she was right, and she was often just as smug about it as Evie was.

Back in the Gryffindor common room Evie and Hermione found Ron. He was sitting in front of the chess set, just staring at it when they walked up.

"Hey, Ron." His head snapped up at the sound of Hermione's voice.

"Hey. Evie, Snape wanted me to tell you and Harry our detention is tomorrow, in his dungeon."

"Have you already told Harry then?"

"Yeah, he's up in the dorm. He got a letter," he gave a meaningful look to the two girls and Evie turned to Hermione.

"Did you know he was writing to…?" She couldn't figure out what to call Sirius so she just let her sentence fall away into an unfinished question.

"I'm the one who suggested it," Hermione answered with a blush. "Sorry, I forgot I hadn't told you. I just thought he'd want to know since he told Harry to tell him if anything happened."

"This would definitely count as something happening," Evie chuckled dryly. "What did we miss in Potions?"

"Harry got called away for Champion stuff," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we've heard about that. But what was the lesson?" Hermione pushed impatiently.

"Oh, antidotes again. Snape seems pretty set on poisoning someone before Christmas."

"He wouldn't actually do that, would he? It must be against the rules," Hermione tried to reason.

"We've had an Unforgivable used on us. Do you honestly think Dumbledore wouldn't let Snape poison one of us for a lesson just so long as he doesn't let us die?" Evie raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "Which antidote was it today?"

"Cure for Boils."

"Tomorrow is going to be so unpleasant," Evie sighed miserably.

* * *

That morning started off the very unpleasant day Evie had predicted. At breakfast she finally got to see how Harry was doing and find out what the note from Sirius said. She wanted very much to be there when Harry talked to him, maybe she would ask if he'd heard from Professor Lupin since there had been no word about what had become of him and she knew how terribly werewolves were treated.

Before she could voice any of these thoughts however, the owls came delivering The Daily Prophet. To say the article about the Champions was bad would have been a tremendous understatement on Evie's part. That lying witch Rita Skeeter wrote all sorts of ridiculous things about Harry, even insinuated he was in a relationship with Hermione and then to make all of it just that much worse, she didn't even mention Cedric. Evie was livid as she sat reading the article.

"How can one woman lie so much and still be considered a journalist?" She snapped slamming the paper onto the table and making the flatware jump.

"She's absolutely horrid, there's no doubt about that. Things with the Hufflepuffs aren't going to get any better after this either," Hermione sighed, turning to see the entire table glaring in their direction.

"I hate to say this, but I'm happy she thought you were dating Harry," Evie eyed the Hufflepuff table warily. She saw her friend turn to face her with pursed lips from the corner of her eye and turned quickly to defend herself. "What? They already think I'm a traitor, can you imagine how much worse it would get if I was also dating Harry?" The very idea left a slightly nauseous feeling in her stomach; they might as well say she was dating her brother.

"You're not forgiven," Hermione glared halfheartedly.

"Fair enough, I wouldn't have forgiven you either," Evie smiled back.

Hermione smiled at that response and they went back to eating. "So, are you going to go check on Cedric once breakfast is over?"

"I ought to, at least see what he's up to today. I hope he hasn't heard about my detention," Evie frowned as she imagined the type of lecture she'd receive from her brother. He would not be as easily deterred as Hermione, and Hermione was not easily deterred at all.

"Well, this is what you get for getting detention in the first place."

"Was I supposed to just let Snape treat you like that?"

"He's a _professor_, Evie."

"And you're my _best friend_, Hermione. I don't care who it is, I will not let anyone make you cry," Evie responded with finality. The conversation ended there with a conflicted look crossing Hermione's face, but ultimately it softened and she let it drop.

"What are you guys doing today?" Ron asked from his spot next to Dean.

"Well, I was thinking we might go to the library and study," Hermione looked up from the last of her toast.

"Oh," Ron frowned.

"I think you ought to take Ron to do that, Hermione," Evie suggested.

"What? You said you'd study since we missed Potions yesterday," Hermione turned outraged.

"And I will, but I still need to work with Harry and Neville on their Summoning Charms and I'm going to see Cedric, which you suggested," she reminded Hermione quickly. "Although, with detention tonight that might have to wait until tomorrow," Evie contemplated her Saturday schedule, furrowing her brow as she weighed the possibilities.

"Fine, but you owe me," Hermione pointed an accusatory finger at her best friend.

"Don't I always?" Evie smiled cheekily.

* * *

"Hey!" Evie called an hour later as she spotted Cedric walking across the grounds.

Cedric spun around at the sound of her voice and smiled. "Hey." He waved back as she rushed to catch up. When she reached him, Cedric threw his arm around his sister's shoulder and turned her back in the direction he had been originally walking.

"You know it's freezing out here?" Evie smiled, feeling the cold tingle on her cheeks. She pulled her scarf up a bit more.

"It's not that bad. Besides, aren't you the girl who would always wake me early when it was snowing to go play?" Cedric removed his arm and Evie shuddered at the new chill.

"Well, that's different. It's not snowing now, it's just cold," she defended. "So, did you read the Prophet today?" She rubbed her bare hands together.

"Yeah," Cedric sighed, removing his gloves and taking Evie's hands. "Rita did a real number on Harry, didn't she?" He shook his head, putting the gloves on his sister. "Better?"

"Yes, but now your hands will be cold," Evie frowned.

Cedric shrugged her worry off. "I told you I wasn't cold."

Evie was still frowning when she spoke again. "She didn't even mention you." Her anger simmered just below the surface.

Cedric shrugged once more. "I'm not doing this for fame. You know that."

"But you're as much a Champion as any of them," Evie huffed. "More so than any of them. She should have mentioned you, at least."

"More so than any of them?" Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Even Harry?"

Evie sighed. "Harry is one of my best friends, but even he knows he wasn't supposed to be a Champion. He might not have been if his name hadn't been added under a fourth school," she spoke more honestly with her brother than she had with any of her friends. "Besides, I'm sure Harry understands that, since you're my brother, I'll be helping you. He's got Hermione after all and Ron when he comes around," she attempted to reason away the guilt of taking sides. It would not go so easily, but it would dissipate much quicker than her guilt of making Cedric feel as though she did not support him when he first told her he was going to enter the tournament.

"No you won't," Cedric stopped walking and turned to face Evie.

"What?"

"You won't be helping me."

"Why not?"

"Because Harry needs your help more than I do. I've got the whole school on my side, he doesn't have that. The Gryffindors are on his side, sure, but everyone else isn't. Even the Prophet is making him look like a fool. He'll need all the help he can get. I mean, I can make sure he doesn't kill himself if I happen across him in the tournament but I can hardly tell him how to beat me, or the other Champions. Being younger than the rest of us and, from what you've told me, not that great of a student is going to work against him a lot. He needs you now more than ever."

"But…you're my brother," Evie argued in shock. "I want to stand by you. I-I'm loyal to you."

The second those words left her mouth, Evie watched Cedric sigh and shake his head. Then he looked at her with a gentle smile.

"So that's what this is about? I should have known all this was getting to you. Evie," he placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "You don't need to prove anything to anybody. The Hufflepuffs have good intentions, but standing by a friend who is at a clear disadvantage in a dangerous competition is just as commendable as standing by your brother, who is most likely going to win," he joked, pulling from her a small smile. "I'll try to talk to the House, get them to back off of you, but you must know there isn't any need to take sides, and you definitely shouldn't be deserting Harry at a time like this."

As Cedric's words began to sink in, Evie finally felt less guilty.

"I know that you would stand by me through anything, because that's the kind of sister you are. I also know that you would stand by Harry through anything, because that's the type of friend you are. You're a good person," he paused, smiling. "And good people don't turn their backs on their friends when they're needed most. Your loyalty has never, and will never be in question to me."

There was a silent moment as the siblings stared at each other. Evie let her brother's words wipe away the last of the guilt that had been weighing her down the past few weeks. "Thanks," she smiled. "You always know just what to say, don't you?"

"Well, I should. I've only known you your whole life," he smirked. "Let's head back inside, though."

"Are you getting cold?" Evie grinned as Cedric moved his bare hands into his pockets.

"No…"

"Speaking of Champions," Evie scrunched her nose as they turned back towards the castle. "What do you think of Krum and that Beauxbaton girl?"

"Her name is Fleur."

"Don't tell me you're taken with her too!" Evie groaned.

"What? No! I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Yeah, but I've seen plenty of guys drooling over her. Ron's convinced she's a Veela," she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"She is."

"Liar!"

"Am not," Cedric smiled. "Well, fine. She's not full Veela, but her grandmother was," he explained.

"How do you know all this?"

"She said so when we got our wands weighed."

Oh...well, I don't really like her."

"You don't even know her."

"She snorted and stuck her nose up at our school! I don't want to know her," Evie sneered, mocking Fleur by sticking her own nose up at the idea.

"Evie, don't be petty," Cedric began to reprimand.

"I'm not," she defended, but when Cedric shot her a disbelieving look, she sighed. "Fine, maybe I am. But what makes Beauxbaton so much better than Hogwarts?"

"Nothing, but you acting superior for not acting superior will make you just like her."

Evie opened her mouth to protest, but once she thought about it she frowned, "I hate it when you're right."

"Really? I rather enjoy it," Cedric pretended to be shocked. Then, glancing down at his watch he cursed.

"Language," Evie placed a hand on her chest.

"I'm late for a study date," Cedric explained, rolling his eyes and ignoring her mock insult.

"What time is it?"

"You really need a watch."

"What for? I've got you and Hermione to keep me on time."

"It's noon."

"Oh! I've got to go too. I have some school things to do," Evie suddenly remembered.

"Do your 'school things' have anything to do with the detention you have today?"

Evie froze. "You heard about that?"

"News travels fast in this school. Especially when it involves a certain professor being talked back to," Cedric eyed her sideways and even though she could not see his face she knew it was disapproving.

"But…you don't even know what he did," she said, instantly reverting back to defensive voice.

"He's a _professor_, Evie."

"You sound just like Hermione," Evie pouted as she steeled herself for another lecture.

"Well, Hermione is right. But, since she's already given you an earful I won't lecture you again."

Evie froze once again. They had made it just inside the entrance hall when those words had fallen from his mouth and the bustle of students inside the castle made her sure she'd misheard him. "You won't?"

Cedric smirked down at his little sister, "I won't."

Evie studied his face, almost sure he'd lost it, but something in his eyes gave her pause. "Why not?"

"Would you like me to reprimand you?" Cedric asked, bemused by her disbelief.

"No!" Evie assured him desperately. "But…you always fuss at me when I do stupid things."

"Yes, but Hermione has already done that," Cedric reminded her. He started forward and she watched him go. Suddenly he stopped and turned back to her with that same smirk, "Besides, you've still got that detention to deal with and I wouldn't want the last thing you hear from me to be a lecture." His smirk had turned into a full out smile as he teased her.

"Are you sure you're a Hufflepuff?" She called after him and he began laughing, but never stopped. A student that had been passing by her as she'd called out stopped to stare at her. When Evie met her gaze with a confused face the girl rolled her eyes and moved on. Evie just shrugged it off and went to find Harry and Neville.

* * *

By the time Evie needed to head down to detention she was a bundle of nerves. Harry was walking beside her looking none too excited either. To make matters worse, their practice session had not gone very well. Evie was sure she was actually going to bruise.

"So, what d'you think Snape will have us doing?" Harry asked.

"Dunno, but I can't imagine it'll be fun. He'll probably try to find the most unbearable activity possible."

At the entrance to the Potions classroom they met up with Ron. He nodded in greeting to Evie but barely looked in Harry's direction. Evie groaned internally as she watched the two best friends try too hard to ignore each other. She thought of her overly confident assessment to Hermione and wondered how upset she'd be if Evie did not manage to get Harry and Ron talking again.

Ron knocked on the door and opened it when they heard the muffled 'enter' from the other side. Snape was seated at his desk, apparently grading essays. He glanced up when they walked in and his face instantly transformed from one of mild disinterest into one of utter disgust. Setting down the parchment in his hands, he stood and swept around the desk to sneer at the trio.

"Tonight you will be pickling rat brains. You will be here for the next two hours, so I expect you to finish all of them before you leave. Even you three shouldn't be able to mess this up," he drawled. "Begin," he flicked his wrist in the general direction of the rat brains before sweeping back around his desk, grabbing the rest of the essays and disappearing into his office.

"Oh great, he gets to avoid the smell and we can't even get a window in here," Ron grumbled, looking at the walls.

"I heard that, Weasley," Snape called from the other side of the door.

Three sets of eyes shot towards the door, widened in shock and a small bit of fear. When they realized he would say and do no more, they turned to each other in amusement, but all too quickly Harry and Ron remembered their frustrations and set their mouths into thin lines. Evie would have been more annoyed if not for the fact that they had shown that not all hope was lost.

"We don't know how to pickle things," Harry started. "He's set us up to fail."

"Well, this cauldron is full of brine…" Evie paused to sniff at the cauldron near the pile of rat brains. "I think all we need to do is soak the brains in this and then jar them with the vinegar. It should pickle itself in time." She thought for a moment, trying to remember if she was correct, but Evie had never thought to read up on pickling things. "Right, let's get started."

They began working immediately, trying to get the job done as quickly as possible. The atmosphere in the dungeon was tense as they worked. The clear feud between Harry and Ron made that detention more unbearable than it might normally have been. They let the brains sit the brine for thirty minutes before removing them to jar them and add the vinegar.

Evie worked as quickly as she could in order to finish and be done with the smell from both the brine and the vinegar. She even took to breathing out of her mouth instead of through her nose. Unfortunately that tactic ended up working against her half way through detention when, just as she took another breath, she poured the vinegar a bit too quickly and some of it splashed up, landing on her cheek and in her mouth.

"UGH!" Evie shrieked as the mixture of brine, vinegar and brains assaulted her taste buds. She began gagging and spitting to clear her mouth.

"What's happened?" Harry asked.

"It got in my mouth!"

Instead of showing concern or empathizing, both boys burst out laughing at her misfortune. She was scrubbing furiously at her tongue with the hem of her robes when it hit her ears. Turning to glare at them, she found that neither showed even the slightest bit of remorse at finding humor in her plight. They just kept laughing.

"Some friends you are!" Evie huffed, having finally rubbed her tongue raw.

"What is going on in here?" Snape swung open the door to his office with such force it slammed against the wall and echoed through the classroom.

The laughter died out abruptly, and all three stared back at the Potions professor not saying a word. Snape waited expectantly for one of the three to say something, anything, to explain the sudden outburst of laughter during such a miserable detention.

"This is detention, not one of your little adventures," Snape spoke icily when it became clear no one was going to explain what had happened. "Get back to work…silently," he added with scathing disgust.

The three students nodded, turning back to the jars and beginning to work right away. Snape did not return to his office after that, and no more words passed between the three friends either, but the tension from earlier had eased immensely and for that, Evie was grateful.


	18. Chapter 18

"He's not even good looking!" Hermione complained as she, Evie and Harry sat in the library trying to study. It was not going very well, however, since Viktor Krum was also in the library and being swooned over by his usually gaggle of girls.

It had been a few weeks since Evie's unfortunate detention experience and she and Hermione were now working together, at Hermione's suggestion of course. She had started helping Evie try to get Harry to master the Summoning Charm. Hermione has suggested that it might help for Harry to study the theory. Evie doubted it would, but she had studying of her own to do, so she'd agreed to go to the library with the pair of them.

Unfortunately, for the third time that week, Viktor Krum was also in the library and it was becoming increasingly harder to study over the noise of his fans. This was the current cause of Hermione's irritation.

"They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that Wonky Faint thing –"

"Wronski Feint," Evie and Harry corrected in unison.

Evie's correction had been colored in bemusement at her friend's complete lack of Quidditch knowledge. Harry's, however, had been downright hostile, spoken through gritted teeth and glaring eyes. Evie turned to him with a frown, only slightly relieved to find he was glaring at Krum and not Hermione.

In the weeks leading up to that moment Harry had been in an increasingly foul mood. Evie found she was a little hesitant to spend time around him because of it. She could not say she didn't understand what was leading him to feel that way, but she didn't like that he was taking it out on her, Hermione and a few unsuspecting victims, namely Cho.

After the whole business with the article Harry became subject to worse teasing at the hands of Malfoy and his group. To make matters worse, Hermione became a target of some very nasty harassment at the hands of Parkinson and the Slytherin girls. Hermione seemed to be taking all the insults in her stride, something Evie wasn't sure she'd have been able to do had it been her. Harry, on the other hand, was cracking.

Just the week previous Evie had been informed by Cedric that Harry had snapped at Cho when she'd tried to tell him he'd lost his quill. Cedric was not happy about the incident at all, but after some coaxing from Evie he'd decided against confronting Harry.

Evie had cornered Harry later, only to find him still in a foul mood. He apologized but it had not been much of one and his constant attitude was putting them on the outs. She wasn't saying she didn't understand that he was stressed, or that he was getting picked on left and right. But she and Hermione had also been on the receiving end of hateful comments and glares, and they had not turned on their friends because of them.

Sighing, Evie stood and closed the book she hadn't been reading anyway.

"Where are you going?" Hermione turned to her.

"Back to the common room, I s'pose. I can't focus in here and I think Ron might be up there. Haven't talked to him yet today."

"You two have fun," Harry sniped.

"I'd say the same, but you've been an unbelievable prat today." Evie turned on her heels and with a backwards wave to Hermione marched off.

On her way out of the library Evie caught up to Neville, who was carrying a large pile of Herbology books. She quickened her pace and managed to grab the top three books before they toppled over. Neville spun around in surprise and smiled gratefully when he saw her.

"Thanks, Evie," He moved to take the books back from her.

"Let me help," Evie smiled, refusing him the books. "You couldn't even see over that stack. What are all these for?"

"Well, I enjoyed the book Professor Moody gave me so much, I started reading up on everything the library has on Herbology," Neville explained excitedly.

"And instead of coming back you decided to take the whole lot of them?" Evie teased.

Neville chuckled with a blush. "Well, I read through them so fast, and coming back to the library every time I finished one was becoming such a hassle…"

"I understand, Neville. Don't worry, I'm only teasing."

Opening the door to get out of the library, Evie heard a gasp and the sound of quick shuffling. Peering over her pile of books she saw a flash of red hair, attached to a body too short to be Ron or the twins, followed by a flowing mass of blonde seemingly dancing after the redhead.

"Is that Ginny?"

"Oh, hey Evie! Hey Neville," Ginny giggled. "Are you alright?"

"Just helping Neville take some books back to the common room."

"Oh, well Luna and I are going to get some homework done," Ginny explained.

"You might want to find another place to do that," Evie smiled apologetically.

"Why?"

"Krum's in there. He's got that gaggle of girls with him too," Evie rolled her eyes at the memory of the constant giggling. "He might actually be trying to work, but the girls are very annoying and made it impossible for me to concentrate…well, them and Harry's silent sulking."

"Still not made up with Ron then?"

"No," Evie sighed and turned to notice Luna. "Oh, we're being rude. It's nice to finally meet you, Luna. Ginny's told me a lot about you."

"She's told me a lot about you too," Luna smiled and she seemed to be off in a world kilometers from their own. "You've got wrackspurts."

"I'm sorry?"

"Wrackspurts, they're invisible. They climb in through your ear and make your brain fuzzy." Luna smiled as though she'd had to explain it a thousand times before.

"Well, that does sound like my brain right now," Evie smiled without a hint of humor.

"You can get rid of them by thinking positively. Here," she pulled a copy of The Quibbler out of her stack of books and set it gently on top of Evie's pile. "This is Dad's magazine. It will explain all about wrackspurts and some other creatures you might want to look out for."

"Thanks," Evie grinned a bit, actually feeling a little better. She turned to Neville, who was staring at Luna like he didn't know what to make of her. "This is Neville, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Neville. Ginny and I are going to try to study, or I'll study and she'll watch Krum." Luna seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she'd just told something Ginny didn't want others to know.

Evie snorted at the sudden revelation, before turning to Ginny whose face was as red as her hair. "You two have fun," her voice got progressively higher as she spoke, a giggle threatening to spill over into her words. Clearing her throat, Evie forced as straight a face as she could muster. "Let's go Neville, these books are getting heavy. It was lovely meeting you Luna, I hope we'll speak again-"

"We will," she answered airily.

"Right, see you later," Evie nodded once she remembered she could not wave and quickly walked off down the hall. The sound of Neville's footsteps only half a step behind her. Evie slowed when they got far enough away from the library and she heard Neville's breathing turn into struggling puffs of air. "Sorry, Neville," she said as she slowed to a crawl.

"It's…alright," Neville smiled, but a hint of sweat was forming on his forehead.

Evie frowned slightly, but didn't contradict him. "So, Luna… she's a bit odd yeah?"

"I don't think I've ever met a person like her before," Neville seemed a bit shell shocked still after the impression Luna left.

"I doubt that I have either. But she seems fun," Evie smiled, looking at her borrowed copy of The Quibbler.

"Are you actually going to read that?"

"I dunno yet. I mean, what if I meet her in the halls and she asks me about it? I'd feel bad saying I hadn't read it."

"You could always pretend you had."

"Yeah, but I feel like she'd know I was lying."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I'll read it eventually," Evie shrugged. "Were you planning on reading one of these today?" She nudged her head towards the books they were carrying.

"Yeah, but I've got to finish an essay first."

"The one for Transfiguration?"

"No, I've finished that one already. Hermione helped me. I've got one due for Divination too."

"Oh," Evie's nose scrunched on its own. "Good luck with that. I can't say that I can help you, I'm hardly about to survive Arithmancy. I'm starting to think future telling is not for me."

"Well, that's alright. I sort of like not knowing, but Divination is one of the easiest classes to take so I stuck with it."

"We could take Muggle Studies next year," Evie offered with a smile. She hadn't told Hermione but she'd been considering it since their second week in Arithmancy.

"Muggle Studies might be nice," Neville smiled at the thought.

They reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady and told her the password. She was so busy chatting away with a woman from another portrait she didn't both talking to them. She just swung open and let them pass.

"I think I prefer this to her singing," Evie smirked as the crawled into the common room.

"I know, I do too. She could make my ears bleed," Neville winced at the memory. "Alright, I think I can take the books from here."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll help you get them to your room at least."

Neville turned bright red, "But," he paused turning even redder if that was at all possible. "you're a girl."

"That was very observant of you, Neville. What's your point?"

"You can't go to the boys' dorm."

"Technically I can. The room was designed to keep boys out of the girls' dorms, not the other way around."

"But –"

"Neville," Evie chuckled lightly. "I promise I won't look at anything, but you could hurt yourself trying to get up the stairs with all these books. Just let me help you," when Neville paused, Evie added, "I'll leave the books on your bed and then run out."

"Alright, I suppose I could still use the help."

"Excellent, lead the way."

They walked up the stairs to the boys' dorms and Evie could not hide her intrigue. The spiral stair case matched the one leading up to the girls' dorms in an exactly parallel way. It felt off to her, like she was experiencing life on the other side of a mirror.

They stopped at the very top, and Neville paused. He turned to Evie as if he wanted to say something else, but then closed his mouth and sighed. Opening the door, he walked into the room and stepped aside for her to enter.

"Wow." Evie stared around the room in complete shock. She had expected it to be a complete chaos. Instead, she found that for the most part, it was neater than her room. Lavender and Parvati had clothes strewn around their entire half of the room, but the boys seemed to keep to themselves even if the smell was less than pleasant.

"My bed's just here," Neville led her to the bed nearest the door on the right. As he said this the curtains to the bed beside his opened and Ron's head popped out.

"Evie?" Ron asked in absolute horror. Instinctively he pulled the curtain partially closed again, covering all of himself except his head.

"Oh my goodness, Ron, please tell me you aren't naked!" Evie shrieked and turned away from him quickly, still holding Neville's books.

"What? No!"

"Oh," Evie sighed and then turned back with a smile. "Then why are you covering yourself?"

Ron looked himself over before throwing the curtain back with a roll of his eyes. "I was just shocked is all. You shouldn't be up here. You're a girl."

"Why is everyone just realizing I'm female?" Rolling her eyes, Evie smirked, "Anyway, technically boys aren't allowed in the girls dorms, not the other way around. Besides, I was only helping Neville carry some books up here. I was going to come see you, too, but I thought you'd be in the common room."

"We can go down there," Ron rushed off the bed.

"You all act like it's the end of the world when a girl gets up here. Fine, I'm leaving." Evie finally set Neville's books down and turned towards the door.

"Thanks for the help, Evie."

"No problem, Neville."

Ron ushered her from the room and quickly closed the door behind them. Then he practically started pushing her down the stairs. When they got to the common room, Evie finally turned around to glare at Ron.

"Honestly! Is it really that terrible having me up there?"

"You shouldn't be up there."

"Alright, fine. I won't tell anyone else I was up there, yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Oh, you made me leave my magazine," Evie frowned and then smacked Ron on the arm. "Go back up there and get it."

"You don't read magazines." Ron rubbed his arm.

"It was given to me. Go get it."

Rolling his eyes, Ron turned and went right back up the stairs. Three minutes later he returned and handed the magazine to Evie with a look of pure disbelief on his face. "The Quibbler?"

"Ginny's friend Luna gave it to me when Neville and I ran into them."

"This magazine is barking mad."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that. I told her I'd read it and I'm going to." Evie puffed out her chest, daring Ron to make fun of her. He said nothing else though, just shook his head and smiled.

"What did you wanna do, anyway?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"If this is about Harry, you can save your breath," Ron started, his mood instantly turning foul.

"Ronald Weasley, you sit down on that couch and shut up," Evie pulled out the full strength of her voice and authority and was pleased to find that Ron actually listened. She hardened her face again and sat in the chair closest to him.

"Now look," she started. "I know why you are upset. I'm not stupid, I get it." Ron looked at her, seemingly shocked to hear she wasn't scolding him. "It's not easy being Harry's best friend. It's not easy risking your life every year and never being recognized the same way. It's hard being forgotten behind five older brothers and one younger sister. You just want to stand out, be seen for who you are and what you do," Evie smiled sadly before her face hardened. "But have you honestly forgotten what it's like for Harry to be recognized the way that he is? Rita Skeeter is making a joke out of him. People aren't praising him, they're laughing at him. Can you imagine the pressure being put on him? It's not easy being his best friend, but it's no easier being him."

Ron looked down at the ground as Evie's words sunk in. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but stopped himself.

"You're a good person, Ron," Evie spoke again, remembering what Cedric had told her so she could forgive herself earlier. "Good people don't leave their best friends hanging. Harry needs you now more than ever. He's about to deal with another life threatening thing and this time we can't go with him, but we can stand by him and help prepare him the best we can." Pursing her lips, Evie stood from the chair and walked towards the girls dorms. "I'm not telling you to be perfect, Ron. I'm just trying to remind you of who you are."

She didn't give him a chance to answer. He needed time to process everything she'd said without feeling pressured to feel some sort of way about it. Evie knew him well enough for that. She could only hope that he finally got over whatever brooding teenaged nonsense he was on so that he and Harry could become enjoyable to be around again.

* * *

Two weekends later Evie was coming back from Hogsmeade with Harry and Hermione when she heard her name being called somewhere behind her. When the trio turned they realized it was Ron. Harry muttered something under his breath about Evie choosing sides as she waved. She responded by purposefully knocking him upside the head with her arm.

"You want to come, Hermione?"

"Well, it'd look weird if I didn't, wouldn't it?"

"Are you going to stay here and wait Harry?"

"No, I'd love to hear what he has to say when he thinks I'm not there." She couldn't see him but she knew that under his Invisibility Cloak, Harry was smirking.

"Whatever," Evie rolled her eyes and the three made their way back towards Ron. "What's up Ron?"

"I had a message I thought you could take to Harry."

"Why don't you just tell him yourself?" Hermione urged.

"Seamus says that Hagrid wants Harry to go see him tonight, and he wants him to bring a cloak. I think he meant the Invisibility Cloak, but Seamus thought he meant because it's getting cold."

"Yeah, I'd bet money on the Invisibility Cloak. That was smart of Hagrid not telling Seamus Harry has one." Hermione smiled.

"Yeah, but why would he tell Seamus to get the message to Harry? And why didn't Seamus just tell Harry himself?" Evie furrowed her brow.

"Well, none of us has seen Hagrid, have we? And maybe he didn't think he'd see Harry before tonight, he didn't even come down today, did he?" Ron asked.

"No, we couldn't convince him to come."

"Seamus told me because he figured I'd see Harry first, since I'm heading back to the castle now anyway."

"But he also knows you're not talking to each other." Evie pointed out.

"Well…" There was a pause in which Evie and Hermione stared expectantly at Ron. "Alright, Hagrid told me to tell Harry he wanted him to come down, late he said."

"Why did you lie?" Hermione stared dumbfounded.

"Well, I didn't know if he was with you, and I just…"

"You two are absolutely ridiculous, I hope you know that."

"This is at least progress, I'd say." Hermione smiled. "We'll let him know. Do you want to walk back to the castle with us?"

Ron nodded and the four made their way back to the Gryffindor common room with Ron none the wiser to the fact that Harry had heard everything already.

* * *

Evie and Hermione had tried to stay up in order to find out what Hagrid had to say to Harry, but they'd been tired after a long day, so the two girls fell asleep on the couch in the common room and waited for Harry to return. When he did, it was none too quietly and the portrait slammed shut behind him, causing both to jolt awake and search around, half asleep, for the cause of their waking.

"Harry!" Evie stated once he'd torn off the cloak. The realization of why they were down there in the first place hit both girls simultaneously and they became instantly fully awake. "So, what did Hagrid want?"

"He was surprised to see me," Harry said. "He had a date with Madam Maxime."

"So…he didn't tell Ron to ask you to meet him?"

"I don't think so, but Charlie was there, with dragons. That's the first task, getting past dragons."

"Oh, do you know what that means?" Hermione smiled in absolute delight. Evie nodded and Harry shook his head slightly, and then nodded. "He knew what the task was going to be because of Charlie and he must've bumped into Hagrid and heard he was taking Madam Maxime to see the dragons, because that's just such a Hagrid thing to do and so he told us to tell you Hagrid wanted to see you so he'd take you to see the dragons as well and you'd be prepared!"

"If you two weren't so stubborn he could've just told you about the bloody dragons himself instead of doing all this complicated business," Evie rolled her eyes. "Hagrid took Madam Maxime on a date? That's so cute." Her tone immediately changed as she registered that bit.

"They really are cute together. But dragons on the first date?"

"Now she knows what the first task is and she'll obviously tell that stuck up Fleur," Evie spoke the name in a nasally mimicked version of adoration.

"That's not all. On my way back I also ran into Karkaroff."

"What was he doing walking around the grounds so late?" Hermione frowned.

"He probably saw Hagrid and Maxime walking and followed them. They aren't exactly an inconspicuous pair, are they?"

"Yeah, but Hermione is right, even with that it doesn't explain why he'd been out around midnight in the first place." Evie frowned, then her eyes went wide. "Wait! If Karkaroff knows the first task is dragons as well that means the only person who won't know is Cedric. Harry you have to tell him."

"What? Me? Why don't you do it?"

"Because if I do it he'll probably fuss at me for breaking the rules since technically none of you are supposed to know. Also you need to do some damage control after that incident with Cho. Your position as my friend is pretty much a sore spot in my house already, since Dad and Cedric are almost positive it's your fault I've almost died the past three years. Never mind that it's perfectly alright for Cedric to enter a dangerous competition and Dad just cheers him on the entire time. How is that not –"

"Evie!" Harry cut off her mindless rant.

"What? Right, sorry." She cleared her throat. "So, are we making a call or what?"

"Already here, Miss Diggory," a familiar voice came from embers in the fireplace. The three jumped and then turned to see the much younger and healthier looking disembodied head of Sirius Black staring at them.

Harry's face broke into the first smile Evie had seen from him in days as he rushed closer to the fire to look over his Godfather. "Sirius, how're you doing?"

"Never mind me, how are you?"

That simple question opened the floodgates. Harry started talking, saying more about how he was feeling and what was happening to Sirius than he had to Evie and Hermione since everything had started. He told him about being picked, and how few people believed he'd not put his name in. He talked about all the buttons and Rita Skeeter, but mostly he talked about Ron. Talked about his anger at Ron and Ron's jealousy and missing Ron, something he had been too stubborn to admit to either of the girls he must've forgotten were standing behind him.

All the while Sirius just listened. He let Harry talk until his sentence trailed off somewhere after dragons and goner and Harry finally had nothing left to say. When Sirius finally started talking again, Evie was just as shocked as Harry to find he was not concerned about the dragons. He told them, well mostly Harry, that there were other things to worry about, things bigger than dragons.

"Karkaroff was a Death Eater." The words filled Evie with a hollow sort of horror and hatred.

"He was in Azkaban with me, but he got released."

"How could they do that?" Evie felt her anger welling up in her chest. She had meant to keep quiet, to just listen as Harry and Sirius talked, but that last statement had caused her mouth to move of its own accord.

"He made a deal with the Ministry of Magic," Sirius answered bitterly. "He claimed to have seen the error of his ways and named names…lots of them. Azkaban got a lot of people in his place and I can tell you, he's not too popular in there. But that's probably why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts. Moody's the one who caught Karkaroff. He'll keep an eye on him."

Evie felt a smile cross her face quickly. She couldn't help but find that choice of wording quite hilarious considering Moody had an eye he could literally take off and place on someone. She faked a cough to cover the sudden trickle of laughter she could not stop.

When she gained control of herself again, Sirius was telling Harry that Moody was attacked the night before he left for Hogwarts. He said that he didn't think Rita was right about it being a false alarm, something Evie was altogether not the least bit shocked to hear. He seemed to be hinting to the fact that it might be Karkaroff, something Harry picked up on as well. When Harry asked why, Sirius paused.

As Evie listened to Sirius and Harry talk, keeping herself from interrupting again, she couldn't help but think back to the conversation she'd had with Hermione on their first day of classes. All the strange things going on, a missing Ministry worker and Moody being attack, not to mention the World Cup attack, she was more sure than ever that they had been right. Dumbledore had known those thing were happening, he had known something was coming and he was trying his best to combat it.

"Right, these dragons. Now, you can't stun them, it would take a dozen stunners to take down one."

"I saw." Harry's jaw was clinched tight as he spoke those words.

"But you can do it alone. A simple spell's all you need. Just –"

"Wait," Harry whispered.

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs leading to the boys dorms. Evie could hear her heart begin to pound in her chest. They had no time to hide or run up the stairs. They'd be heard anyway.

"Go!" Harry hissed at Sirius, and with a quick little pop, he was gone.

"I was going to ask him about Professor Lupin." Evie whispered as an afterthought just as a lanky and freckled redhead appeared, looking around curiously. "Ron," she sighed in relief.

"What are you doing down here?" Harry snapped angrily.

"I was just wondering where you –" He stopped, taking in the scene in front of him fully and Harry's tone before he frowned and shook his head. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."

"Ron, wait," Hermione started, but her statement was drowned out by a sudden burst of anger from Harry.

"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?"

Ron face began to redden with anger as well. "Sorry about that. Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace."

Evie watched Harry reach for one of the buttons the Creevey brothers had been trying to fix, but had only succeeded in making the insult worse. Before he could throw it, she stepped between the two. "That's enough!" She managed to whisper and yell at the same time. "Put the bloody button down, Harry and both of you sit down."

"I'm going to bed." Harry snapped dropping the button.

"I swear to Merlin I will bind you both to that couch if you don't sit down right now." Evie's voice held that eerie calm that always sent shivers down Harry and Ron's backs. They both sat without further argument.

"What are you doing?" Hermione turned to Evie in shock.

Evie scrunched her face a bit as though in pain. "You…may have been right." The smug grin on forming on Hermione's face made powering through even harder. "I might have underestimated the stubbornness of our male cohorts," Hermione began to open her mouth. "Though! Though, in my defense, right up until this moment of absolute insanity from Harry I was probably going to be right."

Hermione pursed her lips in thought. "I'll allow that. You did seem to have been correct until Harry lost his temper there. In fact, you could've just held out. They'd have probably made up by the end of the first task."

"I'm impatient."

"Why did you want us sitting?" Ron broke through Evie and Hermione's hushed conversation.

"We know you lied about Hagrid wanting to see Harry."

"Harry said Hagrid had not expected him. He also said he saw Charlie when Hagrid took Madame Maxime to see the dragons."

"The only reason he's acting as completely insufferable as he just was is because he was just talking to…" Evie paused still not sure what to call Sirius.

"Padfoot, that's what my dad and Professor Lupin used to call him."

"Yes, good. He was talking to Padfoot when you started down the stairs and we didn't get to hear how to deal with the dragons."

"He said he misses you," Hermione added in quickly.

"And we know you tried to help him, so why are you two still acting like this?"

"He won't admit I didn't put my name in the Goblet."

"He's always the center of attention."

"Both of you are idiots!" That shut them up. "You're best friends, for Merlin's sake! Everything you've been through and you're just going to throw it away because Harry doesn't acknowledge enough that he has help and Ron asked the same questions I did?"

"You forgave her?"

"She believed me." Then a pause, "I don't acknowledge you enough?"

"Nah, you're alright. I don't know what she's talking about. Honestly the way that Rita Skeeter's been talking about you I don't even want the attention."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I did."

"When?"

"I sent you to Hagrid, didn't I?"

"If Hagrid hadn't told me he wasn't expecting me I would've never known."

"Yeah, I guess I hadn't thought about that." Then they were both just chuckling and shaking their heads.

Evie and Hermione shared looks, which contained a mix of exasperation, relief, and confusion. How could it have possibly been that easy to get their boys talking again? All the effort she had put in behind the scenes suddenly flashed before Evie's eyes and she felt the beginnings of a headache coming on.

"Harry, we trust you'll fill Ron in on everything he's missed when we were chatting with Padfoot and you two were not talking. I'm going to bed. Hermione?"

"Yes, I'm quite tired as well." She sighed and shook her head. As they walked up the stairs towards their room, Hermione turned to Evie. "I don't understand what just happened."

"Of course you don't, they're boys. We aren't meant to understand them."

"Why do we hang out with them?"

"They'd have died without us."


	19. Chapter 19

The Monday before the first task Evie sat down to breakfast with her three best friends like nothing had ever happened. Trying to figure out what spell Sirius could've been talking about had proved difficult on Sunday. It didn't help that every book told them that there were no simple spells to outsmart or incapacitate a dragon.

"You've got to tell Cedric today, Harry," she said casually as they ate.

"Can you remind me why you aren't going to tell him?"

"It's better this way. Besides I don't feel like being lectured."

"Alright, I'll try to do it after breakfast."

"Good."

They ate the rest of their meal in a pleasant silence; at least it felt pleasant to Evie, perhaps because her group of friends was finally united again. After they finished Harry kept his word and rushed off after Cedric, while Evie, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the greenhouses.

Herbology still wasn't the same enjoyable experience it had been since Harry's name had been picked out of the Goblet, but the tension had eased some since Cedric had talked to his housemates. For the most part Gryffindor and the rest of the school stayed in some sort of icy stalemate, but other than that, the outwardly verbal attacks had ceased from every house except Slytherin.

Evie remember that Monday lesson more clearly than she did many others that year for two reasons. The first being it was the Monday before the first task, and the second because, about twelve minutes after they had begun pruning their Flutterby bushes, Harry had rushed into the greenhouse and called for her attention.

"Did you tell Cedric?"

"Yes, but I need your help."

"Yeah, I know."

"No, you don't understand. I need to learn the Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon."

Evie snorted instantly, but when Harry's face stayed completely straight, the smile fell from hers. "Oh Merlin, you're serious."

They skipped lunch to practice. Harry seemed to actually have gotten worse, which made Evie want to pull her hair out. She was stuck trying to keep her cool as, instead of at least getting the objects to fly in his general direction, Harry managed to get them to start towards him before they fell to the ground midway through.

"What happened? Last time they were at least making it all the way across the room. Well, they were making it way past across the room, but that was an improvement to this."

"I can't help it! I keep thinking of giant dragons and I can't focus."

"Well, if you don't start focusing you'll be burned alive."

"That's not really helping!"

"The idea of your possible demise isn't helping? That's usually such a great motivator."

Harry just glared at her. "Maybe I should have asked Hermione to help me."

"Excuse me! I've got the highest marks in Charms out of everyone in our entire year! What could Hermione teach you that I can't?"

"Well, at least she wouldn't remind me of my imminent death by angry dragon!"

"Well if you don't want it to be imminent perhaps you should learn to focus. Now try again, and remember this book is your salvation."

Just then the bell to end lunch sounded.

"We'll try again after dinner." Evie stood grabbed her bag off a nearby desk and started for the door.

"I need to know this by tomorrow! Can't we just skip class and keep practicing?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not? It's not like I'll learn anything I don't already know in Divination."

"I don't have Divination next, remember? I took an actual class, that requires actual work and I can't just miss it."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, Hermione would be furious with us. Secondly, I'm sort of struggling and I need her help to understand what we're even doing." When Harry raised a shocked eyebrow, Evie pursed her lips. "Oh, shut it."

Harry conceded to going to class, and the two packed up their things and separated to their different methods of predicting the future.

When she got to class, Evie nearly tripped over a bag in the middle of the aisle. Turning to see who it belonged to, she was greeted by the smirking faces of Malfoy and Zabini. Rolling her eyes, she straightened up and scoffed at the two boys.

"Think you might watch where you're going next time, Diggory?"

"Think you might keep your trash out of the middle of the aisle next time, Malfoy?"

"Trash? Of course you wouldn't know what the finest materials look like," he sneered. "You've never seen anything even close to this quality have you?"

"I don't care what quality it is, Malfoy. It belongs you, so it's trash now, worth less than the dirt on my shoes."

"You'd better watch yourself, Diggory."

"Or you'll what? Run home to Daddy? Call your mummy because the big, scary girl was too much for you to handle?"

"Is there a problem here?" Professor Vector's entrance had escaped both of their notice.

"Of course not, Professor," Evie smiled innocently and went to take her seat next to Hermione.

"You'd better be careful or you'll get another detention." Hermione scolded.

"He started it. Besides, I needed to blow off some steam."

"Harry's lessons not going so well?"

The two girls pulled out their books as Professor Vector began the day's lesson.

"He wouldn't focus," Evie whispered. "So I told him if he didn't get it together he'd end up burned to a crisp."

"That's terrible!" Hermione hissed as quietly as she could. Evie smiled, having expected that exact reaction. "How is that supposed to help him?"

"I thought it might motivate him to try harder. You know, to avoid that exact fate."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You weren't planning on trying again, were you?"

"Yeah, I told him we'd practice more after dinner."

"You'd better let me handle that lesson."

Evie just shrugged before turning back to the board.

* * *

The morning of the first task Evie woke up after a plethora of horrible nightmares featuring Cedric, Harry and many very angry dragons. When she rolled over after the latest dream, in which, Harry and Cedric had been featured roasting over open dragon flame, she groaned quietly as it wasn't even six in the morning yet. She tried to turn and gain perhaps another hour of sleep, but when she closed her eyes she couldn't stop the image of the dragons breathing fire and it caused her to break out in a cold sweat.

Opening her eyes and wiping the sweat from her brow and upper lip, Evie sat up with an exhausted sigh. Chancing a glance at her best friend, she knew that six was too early for even Hermione to wake up, so she climbed silently from her bed, dressed for the day and slipped the copy of The Quibbler she'd been lent into her bag before heading down to the common room as quietly as possible.

The November chill had already started to drift through the great stone tower, but the house elves had already been through the common room and the fire was lit. Evie settled herself on the plushy maroon couch near it, tucking her feet under her as she tried to relax. Pulling The Quibbler from her bag, Evie finally opened it.

Reading the magazine was like reading about all of the most impossible things she could ever imagine. Luna and her father, and anyone who actually subscribed to the magazine, believed in creatures that she'd never heard of before. Creatures like nargles, who could not be seen but liked to steal things. Then there was, as Evie recalled, the wrackspurts which got into a person's brain and caused them to be unable to focus. They seemed more like explanations a parent would give to their child when the socks went missing from the laundry or it was hard to focus on lessons, not at all the types of things a rational adult should believe in still.

"Morning," Hermione yawned as she descended the stairs. "What are you smiling about?"

Evie looked up in shock and watched her friend rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. She had not realized she was smiling, but once the question had been asked she knew exactly what the answer was. Closing the magazine, which she had only just realized she'd nearly finished, she shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Nearly seven thirty." Hermione sat down beside her. "How long have you been up?"

"Since six."

Hermione's eyebrows knitted in worry. "Couldn't sleep?"

Evie smiled humorlessly. "I kept having nightmares about them being cooked and eaten by those bloody dragons." She was sure to whisper, despite the fact that very few people were in the common room and they were all rushing through to get to breakfast.

"They'll be alright. Harry finally managed to get the Summoning Spell last night."

"Did he? Even without me teaching?"

"You might be better than everyone at Charms but we both know you'd make a terrible professor. You're almost as bad as Moody, using fear to motivate."

"Fear is an excellent motivator," Evie defended before shrugging away the statement. "But you're right. I can't stand teaching. I just don't have the patience for it."

"That's quite alright. I'm third behind only you and Zabini last I checked and I am extremely patient." Hermione boasted.

"Are you worried?"

"Of course I am."

"But Harry got the Summoning Spelling?" Hermione nodded. "You're sure?"

"Yes. We wouldn't have gone to sleep otherwise."

"Okay."

Harry and Ron descended the stairs at that moment, Harry looking like he might be ill. Evie frowned at her friend's face, wondering if he'd enjoyed dreams similar to hers. Of course the idea of similar dreams brought to the forefront of her mind something she'd not thought of in months. The blurriest flash of that desolate house and that horrible voice echoed like the ghost of a memory and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"You alright?" Ron asked, suddenly standing with Harry right in front of them.

"Yeah," she answered, shaking her head clear. "I can definitely feel that November chill."

"It's not that cold," Ron rolled his eyes. "Let's go get some food before we miss breakfast."

The quartet made their way down to the Great Hall quickly, Hermione ordering Harry to at least try to eat as they walked. When they entered, Evie spotted Cedric already seated at the Hufflepuff table and broke away from her friends to greet him.

"Good morning," he smiled as she walked up.

"Morning. I'm just coming to check on you. Are you ready for the first task?"

"I am," he answered before lowering his voice. "I assume you already know what it is."

"I do."

"Harry told you, did he?"

"He did."

"And how did he know what it was?"

"I didn't ask." Cedric threw her a look that said he knew she was lying, and she cleared her throat. "So, you know how to get past it then?"

"Yeah, I've thought of something."

"That's good. I should, um, get some breakfast before it's gone. If they let me, I'll come see you before the task." Evie started back towards the Gryffindor table.

"Oi!" She turned back to her brother. "Eat something; don't just push your food around."

She chuckled. "Alright, Dad."

"Well, someone's gotta look out for you."

"Oh that's right, you promised, didn't you?" She teased.

"That's right, and you know I never break my promises."

"I'll eat." She nodded before heading back to the Gryffindor table where Ron had already set a plate of food in front of her empty spot. She thanked him, before scooping a decent sized bite of egg onto her fork, turning around and staring straight at her brother while stuffing it in her mouth.

'Thank you.' He mouthed, looking at her as though purposefully ignoring the obnoxiousness of the act, before turning back to one of his friends. With a smirk, Evie turned back to her own friends and ate only a few more bites before breakfast was over.

* * *

Classes were too fast and the moments before they saw the first dragon were too slow. Hagrid had seated himself next to Evie, Ron and Hermione. On his other side sat Neville and Ginny. Evie was silent as all around her people were trying to figure out what the giant arena was for. In the middle of the dirt enclosure there was a nest of eggs, one of which was golden.

"That must be what they're meant to get," Ron said.

"I wonder who's going first," Hermione whispered.

A whistle blew from somewhere near the judges table and out rushed Ludo Bagman. A greenish blue dragon was released and Evie heard Hagrid only barely over the gasps of the crowd. A Swedish Short-Snout is what he called it. She glanced at him and noticed the longing in his eyes.

The sound of uproar from the Hufflepuffs drew Evie's attention back to the arena. Cedric had just walked through a curtain. Evie could see a slight green tint to his olive skin. She tried to swallow back the feeling of queasiness that washed over her.

"Oh, Merlin."

"He'll be alright," Hagrid tried to reassure her, laying a giant hand on her shoulder.

"How bad is that one, Hagrid?"

He never got the chance to answer her. Cedric had started his plan to get the golden egg. He picked a rock in the opposite direction of the nest and transfigured it into a Labrador. When the dragon went to chase down the poor animal, Cedric sneaked forward, trying to stay out of the dragon's line of sight and retrieve the egg. He was just inches from it when the dog cowering in the corner stopped being interesting to the Short-Snout. She turned to see Cedric reaching for one of her eggs and, with a stand shaking roar, she turned her fury on him.

She caught Cedric with her flames, hitting him on the side of his face as he tried to dodge her. Evie had found something akin to a shriek of horror leaving her mouth. She stood, not knowing when her bum had left its seat, watching him rush quickly away from the dragon and towards the nest. Luckily the Short-Snout had chased the dog far enough away for Cedric to reach the nest before she reached him. As soon as the egg was in his grasp, the dragon handlers, Charlie included, rushed in to subdue his dragon.

While the entire crowd cheered around her, Evie watched Cedric rush off towards the safety of the sidelines where Madame Pomfrey was waiting to usher him into a tent. Evie sighed in relief, as the realization that her brother was going to live washed over her. As she regained her composure, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Hermione smiling comfortingly at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know if I can handle watching Harry do this as well." Evie gulped down what little breakfast she'd eaten.

"I'm sure he'll be alright."

They said nothing else as the next two champions faced their dragons. Fleur managed to lure hers to sleep, which was a good enough plan, and would have been perfect had the dragon not shot flames in its sleep and caught her robes on fire. Other than that, she managed to collect the egg with little issue.

She was followed by Viktor Krum, who received quite the cheer as he entered the arena. His strategy was to blind his dragon, a great red beast Hagrid had named a Chinese Fireball. It was, at best, helpful so the dragon wouldn't know where he was. But as it flailed around in confusion and fear, it trampled half the eggs, luckily missing the one Krum was meant to be grabbing, but he was still docked points for it. When he retrieved his egg, Evie noticed that even Hermione was clapping for him.

"What's this last dragon?" Evie asked Hagrid as the mess from Krum's attempt was cleared away and his dragon removed.

"The Hungarian Horntail."

"That's bad, isn't it?" She didn't really need to ask. Hagrid's tone did nothing to cover his own worry. The dragon was out and the whistle blown before he managed to collect himself enough to reassure her Harry would be fine.

Harry walked out slowly, staring first at the crowd and then at the dragon. Evie wasn't sure he was as focused as he ought to be and as he raised his wand after a minute to call his Firebolt, she worried it might not come. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she closed her eyes and tried to will the spell into working. In the moments before she heard it, she could have sworn there was complete silence.

Then it was there and the crowd was calling out in excitement or anger, she wasn't sure but she knew she felt proud. All the training and study sessions had paid off, he had found his focus and there was the Firebolt. When Harry kicked off the ground, Evie felt less nervous than she had before. She knew that he could grab the egg because it was just like grabbing the Snitch. That was what Harry was best at, and all he had to do was fly like he knew how and everything would be okay.

Then he dove, and she instinctively grabbed hold of Hermione's arm. Hermione gasped and stiffened as they watched. "What's he doing?"

The Horntail shot flames towards Harry, who had pulled up before he could be hit.

"He's feeling her out," Evie smirked, but it quickly turned into a gasp as Harry tried again to dodge the flames of his dragon, only to be nearly knocked from his broom by her spiked tail. He managed to swerve just in time to only get caught by the end of a spike in the arm, but it was a mistake he could not afford to make again. They watched as he teased his dragon, moving higher and higher until she was forced to fly after him. Just as she lifted off after him, he dove, flying quickly down towards the ground, past the dragon, reaching his arms out until he had grasped the golden egg.

A deafening cheer rose through the crowd, so loud Evie could barely make out what Mr. Bagman was saying. After a victory lap over the stands, Harry turned his broom towards the entrance of the enclosure where Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody were waving to him.

"Let's go!" Hermione called over the cheering crowd. Evie nodded, and the three of them rushed from the stands and towards the tents Harry and Cedric had been ushered into.

In the first tent Evie could see, through a cut in his robes, that Harry was already healed. With a smile she, Ron and Hermione rushed over to congratulate him. She hugged him before bothering to say anything. "That was brilliant! I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah, mate. The best flying you've ever done." Ron nodded excitedly.

"I'm positively breathless. I can't believe you managed to get past it so quickly," Hermione gushed.

"I couldn't have done it without you guys."

"Oh, don't get all emotional or Hermione will start crying," Evie teased, noticing the tears already welling up in her best friend's eyes.

"Hey, let's go check your score," Ron suggested trying to change the subject.

"I'm going to check on Cedric," Evie cut in. Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded before heading out of the tent. With a shaky breath, Evie followed them out, before entering the tent directly next door.

Madame Pomfrey turned to fuss before realizing it was her and nodding that it was okay for her to enter.

Looking around, Evie saw Cedric sitting up on his cot, some sort of orange healing salve spread across the burns on his face, which were slowly but surely healing. When she saw his face up close, Evie suddenly felt like crying.

"Hey!" Cedric smiled brightly at her.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"He'll be just fine. Burns are easy enough to heal; they just take a bit of time."

"Good, because he'll die if he loses his good looks." The joke came out with no a single bit of amused infliction. "You idiot," she huffed at her brother. "You could've been killed." She slapped him in the arm angrily.

"Hey, watch it! I am still injured," Cedric complained, but when Evie's bottom lip began to tremble his expression turned into one of concern. "Hey, what's with the tears?"

"I thought that stupid beast had killed you," Evie sighed, trying to fight the urge to cry.

Cedric opened his arms with a gentle smile and Evie threw herself into them, making sure not to touch the side of his face covered in orange paste. As her brother rubbed comforting circles into her back, Evie let a few tears slip, before breathing in deeply to find his usual smell, grass and the wood of his broom, had been partially covered over by the smell of smoke and burnt cloth.

"Better?" He pulled back to look her over.

"Better," Evie half smiled, wiping the tear trails from her cheeks.

"Good. Now, you listen to me, I don't care what the next two tasks are, I want you to know I'm going to be alright. This tournament isn't going to kill me, it's too safe now."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay," Evie's smile widened, and even though she knew he couldn't actually promise the tournament was perfectly safe, hearing him promise to be alright made her feel loads better.

"Mr. Diggory," Madame Pomfrey walked back into the tent. "Mr. Bagman is saying he wants you in the Champion's tent."

"Am I alright to go?"

"As long as you come back to see me afterwards, I suppose it's alright." The Mediwitch pursed her lips, clearly unhappy with the idea of letting some competition take priority over her caring for a student.

With a respectful nod, Cedric stood and he and Evie left the tent. "I don't think you'll be allowed in there."

"Can I wait outside to find out what's going on?"

"I don't see why not. If I don't tell you what it is I know Harry will anyway," Cedric smirked.

"Oh, you know us so well."

Cedric didn't respond, he just rolled his eyes and entered the tent with a small smile on his face. Evie watched him disappear into the tent with a smile of her own. Her heart felt lighter than it had since the beginning of the school year. Her best friend and her brother had both survived the dragons and she found that her faith in their ability to succeed was much stronger than it had been before.

"How's your brother?" Evie turned to find two of her best friends. She hadn't even heard them walk up.

"Good. He's still got that paste on his face, and Madame Pomfrey says she wants to see him after the meeting, but he's good." She smiled.

She, Ron and Hermione spent the remaining time waiting quietly outside the tent, but they weren't silent for long. When the Champions reemerged, Viktor and Fleur quickly disappeared, but not before Evie noticed Krum throw a small smile in Hermione's direction. After he was gone, she turned to her friend with a raised eyebrow, but Hermione was pointedly avoiding eye contact.

"Well, the next task isn't until the end of February," Cedric sighed.

"That's a rather big gap," Hermione frowned.

"These eggs are a clue," Harry held his up. "We're supposed to open them up and use the clue to figure out what the next task is."

"I wonder how hard the clue will be," Evie furrowed her brow.

"Let's worry about that later. Right now I'll bet there's a party in both the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff common rooms to celebrate our Champions." Ron smiled brightly.

"Sounds like a plan to me, but I've got to go see Madame Pomfrey." Cedric pointed back towards the medical tent. "Walk with me?" He nudged Evie.

"Alright," she nodded.

"We'll walk slowly so you can catch up," Hermione offered. Evie nodded before turning to walk with Cedric.

They were silent the whole short walk to Madame Pomfrey's tent, but just outside Cedric turned to face his sister. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature version of the Swedish Short-Snout he'd faced. "I want you to hold on to it for me."

"Really? Why?"

"Call it an insurance policy. I'll take it back after the tournament is over." Cedric dropped the little dragon into Evie's hand. "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

She watched it walk in circles on her palm for a moment before it made itself comfortable and curled into a ball. "Yeah, it is sort of cute. I can almost see why Hagrid likes these things," she chuckled. "It doesn't breathe fire, does it?"

"A little, but it doesn't burn you."

"That's amazing." Evie looked up at her brother and smiled brightly. "Thanks."

Cedric just shrugged. "No problem."

Once he had gone back into the tent Evie turned to catch up to her friends and ran right into Cho. "Oh!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Came to check on him?"

"Yes, but I saw you talking and I didn't want to interrupt."

"It's alright, I'm just going." Evie waved the girl's worry away. "I think Madame Pomfrey will let you see him."

"How is he?"

"Good. It's like it didn't even faze him that a dragon shot fire at his face." Cho tried to smile but she didn't seem very happy. "Hey, he's really alright. Go and see."

Evie gently guided Cho into the tent before turning and finally rushing off towards where Harry, Ron and Hermione had stopped walking altogether to wait for her.


	20. Chapter 20

By the time the quartet made their way from the Owlery, where Harry had insisted they go so he could send a letter to Sirius, back to their common room the celebration was in full swing. Fred and George had managed to fill an entire table with treats they'd nicked from the kitchens and celebratory banners hung across the walls.

The noise was deafening, but Evie laughed as she watched Harry be lifted onto the shoulders of their classmates and danced through the crowd. When he was finally released, he joined the rest of their group eating on the couch by the fire. They didn't pause there for long before the entire room was begging Harry to open his Golden Egg.

The sound that cut through the room when Harry opened the egg could only be described as the sound of Banshee screeching along to the music of Nearly Headless Nick's ghost orchestra. The room instantly went from one filled with laughter to one filled with the desperate pleas of their classmates asking Harry to shut it.

"Blimey, what was that?" Seamus piped up. "Sounded like a Banshee. Maybe you'll have to get past one of them next."

"It was someone being tortured!" Neville gulped. He'd gone completely white and spilled an entire plate of sausage rolls onto the floor. Evie stood to comfort him, knowing instantly where his mind had gone. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse."

"Don't be a prat, Nev –ow!" George had begun, only to be elbowed in the side by Evie. "What'd you do that for? I was only going to say, it's illegal." He rubbed his sore side, but Evie's only response was to shoot him a warning look so he just tossed his hands up in surrender and moved several steps away.

"George is right, Neville," Evie comforted, turning her attention back to the pale boy. "That curse is illegal. They might have the Champions do some dangerous things but they still have to follow the laws." When Neville nodded and his face began to regain some color, Evie smiled.

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" Fred was offering as Evie and Neville rejoined the rest of the conversations going on.

Hermione and Evie shared a skeptical look. "What'd you do to it?"

Fred turned to Evie pretending to be shocked. "Nothing! It's the custard creams you've got to watch," he added with a wink and a smile, causing Evie to laugh and Neville to spit his out. "Only joking, Neville," Fred laughed.

"Did you get these from the kitchens, Fred?" Hermione asked as she took a jam tart.

"Yep," he smiled.

"How do you get in there?" Hermione's question instantly caused her best friend to look at her sideways. As innocently as Hermione was attempting to ask, Evie knew she had a clear cut plan forming in her mind.

"You just tickled the pear and it giggles and –" Fred caught on to Hermione's line of questioning then. "Why?"

"No reason," Hermione answered, none too convincingly.

"Going to try to lead the house-elves out on strike now are you?" George teased.

"I _will_ elbow you again," Evie warned.

"Don't tell me you're in on this too," Fred groaned. "Don't you two go upsetting them by telling them they've got to wear clothes and start accepting salaries. You'll throw them off their cooking!"

Evie opened her mouth to retort but before she could say anything Neville, who was standing only a few steps away, turned into a giant canary and the entire room burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, sorry Neville," Fred called over the noise. "I forgot it was the custard creams we hexed."

No harm was done, however, as within a minute Neville had completely molted and was back to normal. He even joined in the laughter after getting over the shock of having been a canary.

It was well after one in the morning before any of them went to bed. As Evie undressed she almost forgot to remove the miniature dragon from her pocket, until she felt it moving around. When she removed it and began clearing a space on her bedside table for it, the other girls noticed.

"Ew! What is that thing?" Lavender shrieked.

"Did you bring in a lizard?" Parvati jumped onto her bed.

"It's a miniature dragon, clearly." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where'd you get it?"

"Cedric gave me his. He said to hold on to it, like an insurance policy, because he's taking it back after the tournament is over." Evie smiled, setting the little blue dragon down and watching it curl up and yawn. "If either of you try to kill her, I'll hex you into oblivion!" She turned to warn Lavender and Parvati, whom she'd suddenly imagined finding her little dragon walking around and stepping on her mercilessly.

"Fine," Lavender scoffed, eyeing it wearily. "But keep that ugly little lizard away from us."

"She doesn't want to be near you anyway," Evie quipped back as she finished getting on her pajamas and climbed into bed. "Goodnight, Hermione. Goodnight, Shadow."

"Shadow?" Hermione questioned.

"It was either that or River and Shadow just seemed to fit more."

"Hmm." Hermione nodded. "Goodnight, Shadow. Goodnight, Evie."

* * *

December brought with it wind and sleet and though the castle could be drafty in spots, for the most part its thick walls and amble fires kept the students warm. Evie noted that she was not sure the same could be said for the Durmstrang ship or the Beauxbatons caravan, though she thought the latter with a petty sort of satisfaction.

Madam Maxime's horses, however, were being treated quite well by Hagrid, who made sure they had an ample supply of single-malt whiskey. It was enough, in fact, that the fumes made them lightheaded during Care of Magical Creatures. It was for this reason that when Hagrid told them they could be trying to help their Skrewts hibernate, though he was not sure if they did, that Evie was more worried than she would normally be.

The students cautiously attempted to crate the last ten Skrewts, as the rest had been killed by their kin, only to find they were not, in fact, the hibernating sort. They also seemed to rather resent being stuffed in crates with fluffy pillows. They very quickly reduced their crates to smoldering piles of wood and began rampaging around the pumpkin patch.

Most of the students, Malfoy at the head of the crowd, rushed into Hagrid's hut in order to wait out the danger. Only a few of the Gryffindors, Evie and her friends among them, stayed outside and attempted to help Hagrid tether them to a pole by their stingers so they couldn't hurt each other. It costs them many cuts, bruises and burns, but they managed to catch all except one rather rambunctious Skrewt.

Evie watched as the Skrewt advanced on Harry and Ron. Hagrid tried to instruct them against harming or scaring the creature, and Evie could almost hear whatever Ron muttered to Harry. Smirking, she sneaked behind the angry and quite ugly thing and wrapped her rope around its stinger. It tried to yank away angrily and Evie almost lost her balance, but Harry came around quickly and helped her pull it back towards the pole with the others.

"Well, well, well…doesn't this look fun." Rita Skeeter, dressed head to toe in magenta, smiled as she leaned against Hagrid's garden fence.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked.

"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," she beamed at him, her gold teeth shinning in the scarce sunlight.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore," Hagrid frowned.

"What are these fascinating creatures?" She ignored him.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid grunted.

"Really?" Rita feigned absolute interest. "Where do they come from?"

Hagrid's face tinted a slight red color and Evie's eyes widened as she remembered Norberta. Hermione, apparently thinking the same, quickly stepped up next to them.

"They're really interesting, aren't they Harry?"

"What? Ouch, yeah!" Harry flinched as Hermione stepped on his foot. "Really interesting."

"Ah, Harry, you're here!" Rita noticed. "Like Care of Magical creatures, do you?"

"Yes." Harry answered stoutly, receiving a proud smile from Hagrid.

"Lovely." Rita waved off Harry, comment as she eyed the damage done to the group that had tried to help Hagrid. "Been teaching long?"

Dean had a nasty cut on his face. Lavender's robes were singed at the bottom and Seamus had three burnt fingers. Looking down at herself, Evie noticed a hole in her pants through which a cut was clearly visible. She closed her robes before Rita could notice, but the damage around them was enough for one of her famous scathing stories.

"This is o'ny my second year," said Hagrid.

"Lovely…I don't suppose you'd like to give an interview, would you?" She kept trying to butter Hagrid up, but Evie wasn't paying attention anymore.

She was keenly aware that if Hagrid gave that interview Rita would destroy him. Thinking as quickly as she could, Evie whipped out her wand and pretended to cough, taking aim at one of the ropes and whispering, "Diffindo."

The rope immediately frayed into nothing and the freed Skrewt rushed forward. Evie jumped out of the way, making sure to knock into Rita and send her falling away from the fence. Her glasses fell from her face, backwards and she was forced to turn from the renewed chaos to find them. Evie could have kissed someone for how lucky that was.

Fortunately, since she had not actually thought about the aftermath of letting a Skrewt free again, it was subdued quickly and secured. But when Evie looked up, she realized that Hermione knew what she'd just done and was looking at her in absolute confusion. She smiled apologetically at her best friend before turning to Skeeter who was waving her wand to clean herself off.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry," Evie feigned concern. "I'll go get Professor Dumbledore. He'll want to personally make sure any Daily Prophet reporter hurt on his school grounds is alright."

Rita's eyes widened. "That's really not necessary. I'm fine dear girl."

"No, I _insist_!" Evie talked over her, pretending to get more frantic. "I'll just run up to the castle right now."

"I'm leaving anyway." Rita assured her, turning and rushing off as Evie turned towards the castle. "We'll talk more later, Hagrid." She called, as she kept moving away from the class and the school grounds.

Evie sighed as she watched the woman scurry away to avoid being caught. Just as Rita fell out of sight the bell rang and Evie and her friends started towards the castle.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked as they walked.

"I had to stop them from setting up an interview."

"So you almost killed us all?" Ron complained.

"Guys, if Hagrid had that interview they'd be calling for his head by the end of the month," Evie sighed. "We have no idea where he got those Skrewts, and can you imagine how she'd have spun it if she'd found out what they can do?"

"Dumbledore wouldn't fire Hagrid just for that," Ron waved off Evie's concern.

"No, but he might not have had much of a choice if the Ministry had come down on Hagrid," Evie pointed out, getting annoyed by her friend's lack of understanding. "Those things are just the tip of the iceberg with Hagrid, and if he accidentally told her about some of the other things he's done he'd be gone for sure."

"Hagrid wouldn't do that," Harry reasoned.

"Oh no?" Evie eyed Harry. "How many times has he told us things he wasn't supposed to?"

Her question was met with silence as her friends let it sink in. She watched as the realization and then fear painted each of their faces.

"That was a good call," Harry responded.

"Yeah, I think I'm alright with almost dying today," Ron joked.

* * *

"Please, Evie." Hermione whispered towards the end of their lesson.

"Hermione, they don't want to be free! You trying to force it on them is just as bad as the way Malfoy's family treats their elves." Evie sighed in exasperation. She had hoped her best friend had given up after the completely underwhelming response she'd received from everyone around her.

"They just don't know what's best for them."

"Oh and you're the right person to decide for them what that is?"

"Yes." Evie raised an accusatory eyebrow at Hermione. "I mean no. I just…" Hermione sighed. "Alright, I see your point. Please just come with me so I can talk to them and make sure they're happy here?"

Evie stared at her best friend, trying to fight against her urge to be supportive, but sighed in defeat. "Alright, but we're just talking to them, yeah? No forcing clothes into their hands?"

"Of course not," Hermione agreed just as the bell rang.

"Alright, off we go then." Evie swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Do you remember how to get there?"

"I've always known how to get to the kitchen," Evie smiled.

"What?" Hermione looked at her in disbelief.

"Yeah, the Hufflepuff commons are just off the same hallway. You actually pass the entrance to the kitchen to get there."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked."

Hermione sulked a bit the rest of the way to the corridor, but when Evie presented her to the painting of the bowl of the fruit her face brightened. After tickling the pear and receiving a giggle, the portrait swung open, revealing the bustling kitchen. All around them House elves were washing dishes, cleaning messes from the floor, putting dishes away. When they were noticed, no less than ten house elves rushed forward to ask if they needed anything.

"We're fine, thank you." Evie assured them all.

The girls walked through the kitchen watching the elves work happily. Every so often they would be asked if they were hungry or thirsty. Hermione tried to stop one or two of the elves, but the second she mentioned clothes or freedom, they would burst into tears and Evie would have to reassure them they were not being given clothes or set free. After a few minutes, the elves seemed determined to avoid Hermione altogether.

"See? You're terrifying them." Evie scolded her best friend.

"I was just…" But the sound of wailing coming from a corner of the kitchen stopped her dead. They turned to find the source of the noise.

Two little house elves were sitting in an alcove off to the side. One, dressed in the oddest mix of clothes and random cloth items, was trying to comfort the other. The closer the two girls got, the more Evie felt she recognized the wailing elf, but it wasn't until she thrust her head back towards the ceiling that the tomato nose triggered Evie's full memory.

"Winky?" She questioned in shock.

The two elves turned in their direction, and the big brown eyes of the elf that used to belong to Mr. Crouch landed on her. It was then that Evie noticed she was also in clothes, though hers actually matched and were completely unkempt.

"Misses is knowing Winky?" The other elf asked.

Evie turned to him, staring at his huge green eyes and long thin nose. Something about him seemed so familiar, and left an itch in the back of her mind, but she couldn't understand why.

"She was Mr. Crouch's old house elf." At the sound of her old master's name, Winky broke into more hysterical sobs. Evie cringed. "Well, Hermione, does she look happy to be 'freed'?"

"Misses is called Hermione?" The green eyed elf asked.

"Yes," Hermione tilted her head as the elf seemed to get excited.

"Misses is called Evie?" He turned his question to Evie.

"Yes…" Evie eyed the elf closer. "Wait, are you…Dobby?"

"I knowed it! Misses are Harry Potter's friends!"

"Dobby? The house elf that helped Harry?" Evie questioned again in surprise. Dobby just beamed with pride.

"Harry Potter, sir, he is telling misses of Dobby?"

"I can't believe it. We've got to tell Harry!" Hermione stated excitedly.

"Misses can bring Harry Potter to see Dobby?" Dobby began to shake all over.

"Of course! We'll be right back." Hermione grabbed hold of Evie and dragged her from the kitchen. In her rush to get them to Harry, they nearly crashed into Cedric.

"Whoa!" He put his hands up to stop them. "What are you two doing down here? Did…" He paused as he registered what he'd just seen. "Did you just come out of the kitchen?"

"What? No," Evie answered automatically. When Cedric raised a disbelieving eyebrow she sighed. "Yes, alright? We did just come from the kitchen."

"Evie," Cedric started with a sigh.

"I know, I know," her shoulder's sagged before she waved Hermione on without her. "It's against the rules. We weren't trying to do anything wrong."

"Then what were you doing?" Cedric turned to walk her out of the corridor.

"It's Hermione. She's all stuck on this house elf liberation thing, or whatever she calls it."

"And she's trying to start a riot in the kitchen?"

Evie snorted. "Fat lot of good that would do, but no. She was trying to talk the elves into asking for pay and holidays and stuff. Mostly though she was just making them cry and scaring them."

"Why did you go with her?"

"She's dead set on it. You know how stubborn she can be."

"Oh yes, Hermione's the stubborn one," Cedric smirked.

"Oi, watch it." Evie punched her brother lightly in the arm. "Just because you're some big hero now doesn't mean you can become a prick."

"You're just mad because you know I'm right."

"Whatever," Evie shrugged. "That's why your face healed back weird."

"It did not! Don't be a child."

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did –" Cedric paused, looking at the smug look Evie was giving him. "Alright, you win that one."

"Because that's such an unexpected development."

"One of these days I'm going to stop letting you win."

"Oh sure you do," Evie rolled her eyes and laughed. Cedric let out a light chuckle as well which trickled into a content smile. "You figured out that egg yet?"

"Have you?"

"I haven't been trying." Evie stuck up her nose. "Neither has Harry for that matter. I was just wondering if he was the only one procrastinating."

"No. After that terrible noise it made, I sort of set it to the side for a bit. I decided to enjoy at least this month without thinking about the tournament."

"I'll bet that makes Cho happy."

"Yeah, we've been enjoying each other."

"Okay, ew. I was just trying to be nice. I don't actually want all the gross snogging details."

"You know, I think I'm fine with you thinking snogging is gross. If you could keep that mindset until you graduate that would be great."

Evie just laughed and shook her head. "Merlin, you're such a dad! I don't think all snogging is gross, just you snogging…and if Dad were ever to start snogging someone," she shuddered.

"I think it would be nice if Dad found someone."

"Well yeah, but if he does, I don't want the mental image of him snogging that someone in my head for the rest of my life."

"No, I suppose that wouldn't be a very fun image to be stuck with," Cedric frowned at the thought.

"See? I'm hardly any more childish than you."

"That's either really insulting or very boastful."

"Shouldn't you know me well enough to be able to tell by now which it is?'

"Probably both."

"Hey!" Evie snapped before beginning to giggle. "Actually no, that's pretty spot on."

The siblings shared a laugh at that before Cedric checked his watch and realized it was nearly curfew. The two rushed back towards the entrance hall, sharing a half hug before heading off to their separate common rooms.

* * *

"A ball," Evie groaned into her hands, trusting Hermione and Ron not to let her crash into anything. "How could I have forgotten we were told to bring formal wear?"

Her hands dropped to her sides as they continued walking, slowly, so that Harry could catch up after talking to McGonagall. All around them, their classmates were buzzing excitedly about the possibilities. Lavender and Parvati had not stopped giggling, Neville looked positively sick and Seamus and Dean kept scanning the crowd looking over all the girls that passed by them.

"This is going to be hell," Ron mumbled.

"What are you two talking about? This is wonderful. It's such a great way to get to know the other schools." Hermione smiled brightly.

"It's also a great way to make fools of ourselves." Harry brought attention to himself.

"What did McGonagall want?" Evie asked, frowning as she took in his absolutely miserable appearance.

"The Champions have to open the ball with a dance."

"You're going to need a date."

"Do you even know how to dance?"

"Funny thing is the Dursleys were never big on taking me when they went for their weekly night on the town."

"You're kidding? That seems so unlike them." Evie sassed right back.

"Wow, someone really ought to have gotten her beauty rest."

"Oh shut up," she mumbled.

"Cheer up, Evie. It's not like you've got to ask anyone." Harry and Ron both paled.

"Yeah, I'm more worried I won't be asked," she frowned. "Maybe Dad will want Cedric and me home for Christmas." Evie sighed hopefully.

That night, however, she received a letter making it perfectly clear that her father was happy to let them stay at Hogwarts for the ball. She even began to suspect that he had known about the ball before the school had started. That of course shouldn't have been shocking once she remembered he very likely already knew of the tournament, but he had been Evie's last hope.

In the following week Evie found herself more annoyed with Parvati and Lavender than usual, not to mention all the other girls at Hogwarts who seemed incapable of walking through the halls without giggling anymore. Everywhere she looked people were asking each other to go to the ball. Cedric asked Cho nearly the day they heard of it, even though it was really more of a formality since not a single person in the school thought they might go with other people.

As the weeks passed, Evie became more and more annoyed. It was like listening to all the tournament talk at the beginning of the year, only worse. She watched in annoyance as Seamus asked Lavender, of all girls, to the ball.

"It's alright, Evie," Hermione stated as they sat in the library studying for Snape's poison antidote exam.

"I should've known he wouldn't ask me."

"He was probably just too nervous. Lavender would've said yes to anybody so she didn't have to go alone."

Evie smiled halfheartedly, "Thanks, Hermione."

"Excuse me," the two girls looked up and went wide eyed as they realized Viktor Krum was standing in front of them. "You are Hermoniny, yes?"

"Um, yes." Hermione answered, and then elbowed Evie who was trying very hard not to laugh.

"The paper is saying you are dating Harry Potter, but this is a lie, yes?"

Hermione seemed to have lost her ability to speak.

"Yes!" Evie piped up quickly. "That's a complete lie, she's not dating Harry. Not dating anybody, actually. Completely free…"

"Good. Then will you be coming with me to the Yule Ball, please?"

When Hermione still didn't answer Evie nudged her. "Oh, um, y-yes. I'd love to."

Then Viktor flashed them a wonderfully genuine smile before nodding and turning to leave the library. The girls watched him go before turning to each other excitedly.

"Viktor Krum just asked you to the Yule Ball!"

"I know!" Hermione smiled brighter than Evie had ever seen. "How does he even know who I am?"

"Are you kidding? He's been watching you since he got here. I see those smiles he shoots your way." Evie couldn't contain the giggle that fell from her mouth. "Oh Merlin, Hermione, I'm so excited for you."

"Me too!" Hermione giggled as well. "Oh."

"What?"

"We can't tell anybody."

"What? Why not?"

"D'you remember the backlash I got when I was apparently dating Harry?"

"Oh," Evie frowned. "So, it'll just be our little secret…until the ball of course." Evie shrugged. "Actually…maybe we could tell Ginny as well?"

"Oh, of course," Hermione nodded. "I can't wait."

* * *

By the last day of classes Evie had resigned herself to going alone, or with Harry or Ron as their last resort when, while leaving Charms she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she found Zacharias Smith.

"Hello," Evie smiled hesitantly.

"Hi, Evie," Zacharias smiled back. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Evie turned to wave her friends on before the two fell back behind the crowd. "Is this about Charms?"

"Oh, um, no," Zacharias chuckled. "I was actually wondering if you'd go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Oh…really?"

"If you don't want to that's fine."

"No, it's not that," Evie assured him, even though his sudden change in tone was a bit off-putting. "I was just surprised. I'd love to go with you, really." She smiled kindly and was rewarded with a smile in turn.

"Cool. I'll meet you in the Great Hall around eight." Then he started off down the hall without giving her time to confirm.

"Cool." Evie responded, furrowing her brow as she watched him go.

Even though she didn't really know Zacharias that well, and she was sure the only reason he'd asked her was because she was Cedric's sister, Evie found herself immensely relieved to not be going as someone's last resort, or completely dateless. As such, she blew through the Potions exam with renewed vigor and was not so annoyed with all the gaggles of giggling girls she passed in the halls.

During dinner Evie told Hermione about her date. Though she left out the fact that she wasn't really excited and didn't actually know him that well. She was also interrupted by Cedric, who informed her that Ron had asked, or more accurately screamed at, Fleur to see if she'd go to the ball with him. He then informed her that her friend had last been seen running towards the Gryffindor common room.

Evie should have felt sorry for him, but she was also quite sick of him drooling all over her and hoped that he was too scared to even look in her direction again. Although, when she and Hermione climbed through the portrait hole to find him still looking a bit pale next to a glum Harry, she did find it in her heart to feel bad.

"Hey," she cooed softly when they walked up to the duo. "So…Cedric told me what happened."

"Please don't talk about it," Ron moaned.

"You screamed it at her?"

"Evie, please, shut up."

Through her hardly hidden smile she turned to Harry. "Did you have any better luck finding a date?"

"I couldn't work up the nerve to ask anyone," he mumbled.

"So, Eloise Midgen is starting to look quite good now, isn't she?" Hermione smirked at Ron, referencing an earlier conversation they'd had. "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone _somewhere _who'll have you."

Ron didn't take the bait, however. Instead he was looking at Hermione as if he'd never seen her before in his life. "Hey, Neville's right, Hermione. You are a girl."

"Oh, sweet Merlin," Evie mumbled.

"Well spotted," Hermione replied scornfully.

"You could go with one of us!" Ron turned to Evie excitedly, as though just remembering she was there. "Actually we could all just pair up and go together. Then we'd all have dates."

"Except that we," Evie bit out and motioned to herself and Hermione. "Already have dates."

"No you don't!" Ron said.

"Yes we do." Evie snapped. "Just because you didn't think to ask us, or anyone else for that matter, until the last minute doesn't mean we've been looked over by everybody."

"Alright, look," Ron smirked as though trying to calm a petulant child. "We're sorry we didn't ask you earlier. Now will you come?"

"Let's go." Hermione seethed and she and Evie stormed out off to their room. "Can you believe the nerve of him?" Hermione fumed as Evie sat on her bed to watch her friend pace angrily. "Telling us we haven't got date? Telling me that I'm a girl, like I don't know I'm a girl?"

"Ron's been an idiot for as long as we've known him," Evie stated with a roll of her eyes.

"I know," Hermione huffed, still pacing. "But the gall of him, I mean –"

"Hermione?" Evie cut her friend off.

"Hmm?" Hermione finally stopped pacing and turned to Evie.

"You're going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum."

A smile instantly spread across Hermione's face. "I know."

The two shared a giggle reminiscent of Lavender and Parvati.


	21. Chapter 21

Evie's sat up a bit disoriented Christmas morning. Looking around in confusion, it wasn't until the sleep cleared from her head she remembered exactly why she was not in her bed at home and being shaken awake by Cedric. When her eyes finally settled on the maroon curtains of the four poster bed she sighed, laid back down and closed her eyes, completely intent on stealing another hour or so of rest.

In an instant she popped back up, her eyes opening wide as the exact date screamed in her mind.

"It's Christmas," Evie whispered, a smile growing on her face. "It's Christmas!" She called louder, throwing open her curtain and nearly tripping over her feet as she rushed to throw open Hermione's curtains as well.

"Mmm," Hermione groaned, turning away from the breeze.

"Wake up," Evie shook her best friend. "Come on! How is Christmas the only day of the year you decide to sleep in?" She tugged at the blanket Hermione was holding. "When did you get so strong?"

She pulled once more, finally freeing the thick cloth but losing her balance and falling backwards. The covers fell over her head and she was shrouded in darkness. Outside the blankets she heard Hermione fuss as she finally shuffled out of bed.

"Why are you waking me so early?"

"It's Christmas!" Evie's muffled cheer called from under her friend's blanket. With a laugh, and the flash of a distant memory, she threw the quilt off of herself and jumped up. "Happy Christmas, Hermione."

"Happy Christmas, Evie." Hermione's frown had been transformed into a joyous smile. She turned quickly and picked up a wrapped rectangular object from her bedside table. "I've never been able to just hand you your present. This is exciting."

"Oh," Evie turned and grabbed Hermione's present as well. With matching smiles the two girls handed over each other's gifts and began opening their presents. Evie torn through the snowflake wrapping paper surrounding the rectangular item, which turned out to be a book. "_Murder on the Orient Express_," she read off the title with interest. "By Agatha Christi. Oh! We haven't got any of her books."

"I know, I thought you might like another mystery since you've finished all the Sherlock Holmes books," Hermione smiled proudly as she carefully pulled apart Evie's Christmas tree wrapping paper.

"Please just rip it? I won't be upset," Evie groaned as she watched the painstaking care Hermione was giving to unwrapping her gift.

"But it's so nicely wrapped."

"I just waved my wand at it, Hermione. It wasn't nearly as much effort as your putting in right now."

At that confession Hermione finally gave in and ripped open her present. It was a record. "The Hobgoblins?"

"They're another band. They're a bit more edgy than The Weird Sisters, but really good, especially when you're mad."

"I can't wait to listen," Hermione smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Thanks for the book. I'm very excited to start it."

"I've already read it. I'm very confident you'll enjoy it."

"I trust you." Evie answered waving her hand to banish Hermione's worries.

Suddenly a tiny huff was heard and the two girls turned to see Shadow setting fire to the bow on one of Evie's presents. Rushing forward, Evie grabbed Shadow and Hermione quickly put the fire out. The present managed to survive with nothing more than a tiny singe mark.

"Bad, Shadow," Evie scolded. Shadow stared at her completely unapologetic. "Geez, you're just like a cat. A cat that, unfortunately, makes fire." After setting Shadow on her bedside table Evie and Hermione tore into their piles of presents.

Hermione excitedly showed Evie the beautiful peacock feather quill and violet ink she received from Harry, and then offered her one of the glacial snowflakes or toothflossing stringmints she got from Ron, pleased beyond words that he remembered her favorite treats from Honeydukes.

Evie declined politely, before digging into her own gifts. Her father had sent along Aunt Perry's fruitcake, which she tossed aside with a frown. Cedric had given her a beautiful pair of tiny heart-shaped earrings, in teal. She instantly realized they would match perfectly with her dress for the ball and smiled. Her father had sent her a pair of surprisingly stylish, thick gloves, which caused Evie to laugh. She remembered distinctly the letter in which she'd told him she'd taken Cedric's and in his card he'd told her to give them back now that she had her own. Finally from Harry and Ron Evie had received a book on the Holyhead Harpies and a poster of the team flying around and waving.

Evie took the poster and stuck it to the wall beside her bed before taking a step back to make sure it wasn't lopsided. Satisfied she turned back to Hermione. "D'you think the boys will be up yet?"

"Only one way to find out."

Sure enough, Harry and Ron entered to common room at the same time the girls did. They all exchanged Christmas greetings before making their way down to breakfast.

"Oh, Evie that copy of the best plays in Chudley Cannon history is amazing," Ron praised.

"I thought you'd like it. Dad actually got Cedric the same thing for his birthday and I thought it would be perfect for you too. I mean, you two are the biggest Cannon fans I know…even if your team sucks," Evie teased.

"Yes, because all superior people are Harpies fans," Ron stated with an air of disbelief.

"Absolutely," Ginny hopped into the conversation from behind them. Evie offered her a high five for the backup and Ron just threw his hands up in defeat.

"Anyway, I am glad you like it Ron. That poster of the Harpies is pretty awesome. And the book is great too, thanks Harry." Evie smiled at both her guy friends.

"No problem," Harry chuckled lightly as the five of them entered the Great Hall for breakfast.

They sat in their usual spot and were greeted by Neville, Seamus and Lavender, the latter of which had been hanging off of an unenthusiastic Seamus since he'd asked her to the Yule Ball. Very little talking passed between any of the group for the majority of breakfast, besides Neville thanking Evie for the book on Herbology she'd gotten him for Christmas. That is, until Evie suddenly felt eyes on her.

Looking up she realized Harry and Ron were staring at her sort of funny. "What?"

"Did you do something different?" Harry asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Um, no? How d'you mean?" His question had gained the attention of the rest of their group and Evie was quite suddenly the center of a plethora of unwanted attention.

"They're right, there's something different about you," Neville agreed.

"It's your hair," Ginny concluded.

"Did you try to dye it or something?" Lavender asked with a smirk. "It looks like you tried to make it red and it didn't work."

"I haven't done anything to my hair," Evie asserted.

"But it does look sort of red," Hermione said quietly. "Not everywhere, just like here," she pointed to a spot near her neck. "And here. It's just streaked in random places. It also isn't red so much as auburn," she clarified.

"Yes, but you've been with me all morning. You know I haven't done anything."

"I know," her best friend assured her. "Has your hair ever been this color before?"

"I don't think so. I mean, no. I think I'd remember if my hair had been red at one point."

"Auburn," Hermione corrected again.

"Whatever. My point is it's always been brown."

"No it hasn't," Cedric's voice cut into their conversation. When Evie whipped around in surprise he just smiled. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," all of her friends chorused around her.

"Happy Christmas," Evie answered distractedly. "What did you say?"

"You said your hair was always brown, but it wasn't. You had auburn hair until you were around three or so."

"I don't remember that."

"By the time you were four your hair was completely brown, so I'm not surprised you don't remember." Suddenly Cedric chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"It's like your body can't decide what you want to look like. It's the freckles all over again."

"You really are insufferable sometimes," Evie huffed.

"Your freckles have been getting more and more prominent though," Hermione noted. "I mean, you remember how light they were in first year."

Evie frowned for a moment before deciding she didn't like all the attention she was getting. "So, why did you come all the way over here? I know it wasn't just to mess with me," she stated, turning her attention back to Cedric.

"I also came to say happy Christmas, which I've done. Oh, and thank you for my gift." Cedric smiled cheekily at his exasperated sister. "Where did you find a signed Chudley Cannons jersey?"

"I'm glad you like it. It was actually pretty hard to find. I had to send Dad on a ridiculous search for it. Well, actually the jersey was easy, the signature is what he had to search for," Evie laughed. "My new earrings are lovely, thank you. I shall be wearing them tonight."

"You shall, shall you?"

"Indeed, good sir, I shall. Such a lovely gift deserves to be worn."

"Well, my lady, I shall bid you good day and see you this evening at the ball," Cedric said his goodbye with a bow and Evie finally broke character and laughed. Cedric smiled, satisfied with his sister's reaction and, with a second goodbye, walked off towards the Ravenclaw table.

After breakfast Harry, Ron, Hermione and Evie spent their morning in the Gryffindor common room. At lunch they trekked back to the Great Hal of another delicious feast, which consisted of more turkeys than Evie had ever expected to see in one place and some of the most wonderful roasted potatoes she'd ever eaten.

After lunch the little group braved the cold in order to enjoy the snow, which was practically untouched. As they walked towards a bench Hermione was determined to get to in order to see as much of the grounds as possible, a snowball smacked Evie in the back of the head. Hermione, having got a small bit of shrapnel snow, rushed forward and sat at her bench.

"Who did that?" Evie turned, seeing the only person with snow on their gloves was George. "You're going down, Weasley," she threatened with a glare.

"Oh, I'm shaking," George laughed.

Evie took the opportunity to launch a snowball right into his open mouth before running to put some distance between them and giving herself a chance to erect a small barricade to stave off future attacks. Just as she was diving behind it, a snowball caught her square in the side of the leg. The snow melted on her jeans and the cold water pierced her leg causing her to yelp and laugh all at once.

"Barricades are for girls!" She heard Ron shout.

"I thought we were friends, Ron. Is this what war has turned you into?" She questioned feigning hurt, but also positive he had been the one to hit her. As she spoke she started packing together snowballs.

"Hey!" Ron yelped.

Following his exclamation Evie heard footsteps moving towards her. She geared up a snowball to launch but paused when Fred popped up with empty hands.

"Truce!"

"State your purpose." Evie eyed him hesitantly.

"I request permission to join you."

Evie continued to eye him for a moment longer before nodding. "Granted. Welcome aboard. What's it like out there?"

"George and Ginny have erected their own fort and Harry and Ron are just hurling snowballs at anyone they see."

"Good, they'll be easy to take out," Evie smiled and popped out of the barricade to fire two snowballs at her best friends. Ducking behind it again she heard the huff and splat from Harry that told her she'd hit him, but a laugh from Ron. "One good hit," She assessed as a barrage of snowballs sailed over her barricade but missed both of its occupants.

"They'll have to come around if they want to actually hit us," Fred theorized.

"True. We'll have to watch our backs and keep them at a distance."

"You get really into this."

"Cedric and I have had full out snowball wars every winter since I was five," Evie paused and smirked at her companion. "They get a little intense sometimes."

Fred just chuckled and shook his head.

The two peered around their barricade just in time to see Ginny launch a giant snowball at Ron's head. He took it in full, having been kneeling to gather snow for his own attack. The impact caused Ron to drop all the snow he'd gathered and as Ginny laughed, Evie and Fred took the opportunity to launch more snowballs at the two youngest Weasleys.

They hit their targets, though just barely as both were more alert than they seemed. Retaliation was swift and soon the battle was in full swing. Snowballs flew from every person. Anyone else outside had decided to avoid the group for fear of getting hit by a wayward projectile.

It wasn't until five o'clock, when Hermione stood from her bench and informed Evie of the time, that the latter realized how cold she was. Standing, Evie shook the snow from her body and made her way to Hermione so they could get ready for the ball.

"Where are you two going?" Harry asked.

"We've got to get ready," Hermione explained.

"You need three hours?" Ron's voice was completely flabbergasted.

Evie and Hermione rolled their eyes at their clueless friend and, without answering him, they started back towards the castle. As they trudged away Evie caught George chastising his younger brother.

"Ron, you oaf, of course they need three hours."

"Yeah," Fred had joined in. "Girls have to do their hair and makeup and all that extra stuff."

* * *

The three hours leading up to the ball were well spent. Hermione and Evie both managed to bathe and apply decent looking makeup, though neither of them usually bothered. Hermione had chosen to go with little more than a berry pink gloss on her lips and a light dusting of periwinkle eye shadow. Evie went slightly bolder with a red gloss, but kept her shadow light as well with a sliver shimmer. She almost dared the tiniest bit of blush but felt her cheeks would be doing that naturally all night and withheld.

Hair was a bit tricky, since Hermione's needed some time for the hair potion to work and Evie could not manage to charm her own hair into place. In the end, a liberal amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion calmed Hermione's hair enough for Evie to do with it what she intended, an intricate knot at the back of her head with a small bit of hair hanging free of the knot, curled and draped over one shoulder. Hermione was kind enough to charm Evie's hair into the do she wanted as well, an elegant bun at her neck, with the bang left out and then swooped over into the bun. For the final effect she left a single strand of softly curled hair out of the bun, resting near her ear.

The two girls got into their dresses and, after zipping each other up, they turned and surveyed themselves. Evie smiled at her friend, proud not only of her own handiwork but also of how happy Hermione looked. The dress was made of periwinkle-blue silk and chiffon as far as Evie could tell. The bodice was a slightly formfitting silk, but the sleeves and skirt were chiffon, sheer on the sleeves and thick layers on the skirt, which probably hid more silk underneath. Her shoes, which she had yet to put on, where t-straps the same color as her dress and the heel was small, possible no more than two inches. Her only other accessory was a pair of earrings shaped like a small white flower.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." Evie smiled at her best friend.

"So do you," Hermione commented, blushing lightly.

Evie's dress was a teal and knee-length. The top portion was a satin spaghetti strap, with a floral patterned lace overlay. It was cinched at the waist with a satin belt covered in tiny silver and teal crystals before flaring slightly into the chiffon skirt, which moved with her as she walked and flared out like a lily opening when she spun. Her shoes, which she had slipped into while complementing Hermione, were velvet, teal, three inch pumps with a round toe. She, of course kept on her mother's locket, but also wore the earrings Cedric had gotten her and a vintage filigree bracelet with teal crystals.

When they were finally finished, Lavender and Parvati were only about midway through their own routines and still locked away in the bathroom. Calling out a goodbye to their roommates, they received little more than grunts in reply as they left the room and made their way through the empty common room and out of Gryffindor tower altogether.

Their shoes made a clacking sound as they walked and it echoed down the halls, drawing more attention to how desolate the large castle seemed. They walked through the halls quickly, bodies bubbling with nerves. Evie found herself wringing her hands together, trying to calm the excited butterflies dancing about in her stomach. They would not be stilled, however, and she gave up.

When a soft sigh came from beside her, she noticed Hermione was doing the same with her own hands. "Are you alright?"

The usually bushy haired girl laughed breathlessly at her friend's question. "I'm very nervous. It feels like getting ready for an exam."

"You always pass your exams with flying colors," Evie pointed out with a kind smile. "So, perhaps it's a good thing you feel that way."

"What if I step on his toes? What if he thinks I look ridiculous?"

"You look beautiful, so if he doesn't like it, that's his problem. Also, I've seen you dance, you won't step on his toes."

"Thanks, Evie," Hermione sighed. "Are you nervous?"

"A bit, but I'm pretty confident everything is going to be great." Evie smiled, but her stomach was still doing somersaults.

They parted in the entrance hall. Hermione was meeting Viktor down at the Durmstrang ship. Evie had decided to meet Zacharias near the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff hallway. She had only about ten minutes before the hall was flooded with students and she used that time to calm her breathing.

"Well, don't you look beautiful."

Opening her eyes, Evie was greeted by her brother's smiling face. "Thanks," she answered breathlessly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm nervous. What are you doing out here so early?"

"I promised Cho I'd pick her up at the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower."

"Aw, aren't you just a hopeless romantic," Evie cooed, though it didn't hold its usual teasing tone.

"Evie," Cedric sighed before smiling at her and taking her hands in his. "You look absolutely beautiful. Zacharias with be floored when he sees you." The thought seemed to cause him to frown. "I'll have to keep my eye on him," Cedric then mumbled under his breath. Evie giggled at the reaction to his own words. "Anyway, my point is that you have no reason to be nervous. Just have fun tonight and remember to save a dance for me." He smiled and let go of her hands.

"I will, thanks." Evie smiled back.

It wasn't long after Cedric set off to meet Cho that the hall began to fill with students from all houses. Zacharias found her fairly quickly and made a point of putting his arm around her waist. Evie stiffened at the contact.

Looking around for some sort of distraction, she made eye contact with Cedric offering him and Cho small smiles. They were quite an attractive couple, she had to admit. Cho wore a traditional Chinese dress, made of cream colored silk with a floral pattern. Cedric wore the traditional black and white dress robes. They both smiled back at Evie and she turned to continue looking around the hall.

A bit away from Cedric and Cho she found Hannah and Ernie. She smiled at them both as well and continued on. More than anything, she had begun looking for a good enough reason to separate herself from Zacharias and his invasive hand.

She found her reason when a large group of Gryffindors descended the stairs and she spotted Harry and Ron. Moving forward to go greet them, Evie felt a sudden pressure on her waist as Zacharias tightened his grip on her and held her still. Turning to him, Evie frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Where are you going?"

"I've just seen Harry and Ron. I was going to say 'hi'," Evie explained.

"If you run off now, how am I supposed to find you before we go into the Great Hall?"

Evie felt his tone changing to one she found off-putting, but she sighed since he did have a point. "You could come with me."

"But we're close to the doors here. You can see them once we get inside," Zacharias stated with an air of finality.

Evie felt herself round on him instantly. "Excuse me?"

"What?" Her date shrugged.

"Just because you're my date does not mean you can tell me-"

"Champions over here, please!" Professor McGonagall called, cutting over the rest of Evie's rant.

Breathing deep to calm her anger, Evie turned to watch the Champions gather at one side of the doors. Evie smiled as she caught a glimpse of Harry's shocked face when he saw Hermione. She was beaming as she greeted him and the raven-haired boy seemed at a loss for words. Indeed quite a few people seemed a bit shocked to see Hermione in such a state of glamour.

"Is that Hermione Granger?" Zacharias asked beside her.

Evie nodded and smiled.

Then the doors opened and the rest of the student made their way into the Great Hall. It was nearly as grandiose as the Ministry during their winter galas, and yet infinitely more cozy. The walls were covered in a silver frost, and across the starry ceiling hung hundreds of garlands of mistletoe. The dance floor was like the icy surface of a lake and small piles of snow sat around the edges of the hall. The House tables were no longer there, instead there were hundreds of smaller round ones, lit by lanterns and able to sit about a dozen people each. At the very front of the hall was another table, behind which were three large pine trees, covered in snow.

The table held the judges of the tournament, all except Mr. Crouch. His seat was taken by Percy Weasley, to Evie's surprise. Ron had not mentioned that Percy would be there and Evie thought at the very least Fred or George would have warned them Percy might try to bore them at some point in the evening. This led Evie to believe they would be just as surprised as she was.

By the time she had finished taking in the hall, Evie noticed everyone was being ushered into finding seats. After a second, much faster survey of the room she spotted at table with her friends and began moving towards it.

Once again the pressure on her waist intensified. Turning to glare at her date, she waited for him to speak.

"We're sitting over here," he pointed to where a few of his friends sat at a predominantly Hufflepuff table.

Evie glance in that direction, but shook her head. She had no problem with Hannah or Ernie, but she was not about to let Zacharias think he could tell her what to do. "You can sit there if you want, but I am sitting over there."

Twirling out of his grip, Evie reveled both in the skirt of her dress flaring out and the defeated look she caught of her date's face as he made to follow her. They took their seats just in time for the doors to open again and reveal the Champions.

The hall began clapping as the Champions and their dates filed in. Fleur and Roger Davies, the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, walked in first. Evie rolled her eyes as Fleur soaked up the attention. Roger, on the other hand, didn't even seem to know where he was.

"Who's that with Krum?" Ron asked over the applause.

Evie turned to stare at him in shock and noticed the whole table doing the same. "Ron," Evie started. "That's Hermione."

"Hermione who?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Granger, mate," Seamus answered with a bemused smirk on his face.

Ron's face contorted into an expression of shock first, but it was quickly followed by a look of annoyance. His eyes narrowed and followed Hermione and Krum all the way to their table. The Champions were sitting at the table at the head of the hall with the judges and Percy.

"Did you know your brother was going to be here?" Evie asked all the Weasley at the table.

They shook their heads, well three of them did. Ron was still glaring at Hermione and Viktor. Evie rolled her eyes at this and then noticed food had not appeared on her plate, as it usually did. There was a lovely little menu there and she figured she should at least find out what she wanted.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Ginny, who had come with Neville, leaned over to ask Evie.

"I'm not very hungry but the chicken sounds good." She was leaning over her own plate when she spoke and a sudden heat hit her chin. Looking down, Evie realized the very thing she'd been planning to order was on her plate. "Oh!"

"I hope Hermione doesn't notice this," Neville mumbled, reminded of the many afternoons he'd spent pinned against a wall being yelled at about House Elf rights.

After a quick glance at the Champion's table, Evie laughed. "I don't think you'll have to worry about S.P.E.W tonight, Neville."

Indeed, Hermione was eating already, and hardly seemed to care about anything other than Viktor Krum. Ginny giggled and Padma sent a particularly jealous glance in Hermione's direction, but it was nowhere near as scathing as the look Ron shot towards the couple.

"Probably should've asked her sooner, Ron," Evie mumbled as she took a bite of her chicken.

"How could she go with Harry's competition?" Ron snapped.

"Ronald Weasley, you stop that right now," Evie snapped right back. "If you ruin this evening for her I'll feed you to the Skrewts," she finished sending her fiercest glare his way. When Ron shrank back, Evie smiled. "Try the chicken, it's amazing."

The rest of the meal passed with amiable conversation, though Ron and Zacharias stayed silent. When the food was finished and cleared away, Dumbledore stood and requested that all the students do the same. Following suit, Evie waited expectantly to see what the Headmaster had planned.

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore removed the tables from around them. They situated themselves along the walls, leaving the whole middle of the floor clear. Then he raised a platform, equipped with bagpipes, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and a drum set.

Suddenly, there they were. The Weird Sisters, trooping up the stage and getting ready to play. Evie hadn't even realized she was clapping excitedly until she felt the sting on her palms. For a moment Evie wished she could dress like the Weird Sisters, in their ripped black robes.

The hall darkened and the Champions stood, all except Harry who seemed to have forgotten he was supposed to be dancing. Evie suppressed a giggle as he stood hastily and tripped on his robes. As the Sisters began to play they walked out to the dance floor and Parvati took control for Harry.

Luckily for her awkward friend, Harry and the other Champions only danced alone for a short while. Soon others joined them on the floor. Neville asked Ginny to dance, Professor Dumbledore took Madame Maxime for a spin, and even Moody grabbed Professor Sinistra and twirled her around the floor.

"Would you like to dance?" Zacharias asked.

After only a moment of hesitation Evie nodded. Her date led her out into the crowd and she was relieved to find he was actually a pretty proficient dancer. If he held her a bit too close, perhaps she could overlook that. When he gripped her hand tighter than necessary, she shrugged it off as nerves. It wasn't until his hand began to descend that Evie finally made her reservations known.

Grabbing his hand to still it she shot him a clearly disapproving glance. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing," Zacharias shrugged.

"I meant with your hand," Evie specified.

"What? You're my date aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, this is what people do on dates," Zacharias explained with a tone that almost sounded like he was sad for her.

"Well, that's not what I do on dates, so keep your hands above ground or my fist will find your face," Evie explained slowly.

The song ended very quickly after that and as Evie was making her way back to the table and as far away from her date as she could get, she bumped into Hermione.

"Evie!" Hermione practically squealed, smiling from ear to ear.

Laughing at her friend's excitement, Evie brushed aside her terrible date. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes," Hermione answered breathlessly. "Dance with me, this song is amazing!"

Pausing, Evie finally caught what song it was and nodded. "This is one of my favorites," she agreed. Finally, with a little encouragement, Evie joined her best friend dancing.

They danced so jubilantly that by the time the song was over the two girls were out of breath. The two girls took in each other's red faces and dissolved into a fit of giggles. As the next song started, a slow song like the first, Viktor walked up.

"May I be taking my date to dance?" He asked Evie, to the girl's astonishment.

"Please do," she answered, smiling approvingly at Hermione before turning to head off the dance floor. She nearly bumped into Zacharias and her stomach dropped. "Oh, I didn't see you there, sorry."

"Would you like to dance?" He asked in his deceptively gentle tone.

"Um," she froze.

"Actually, if you don't mind, the lady promised me a dance."

"That's right," Evie turned to smile gratefully at her brother.

"How could I refuse Hufflepuff's Champion?" Zacharias laughed, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He turned with a tightlipped smile and made his way towards the drink table.

"My lady," Cedric called his sister's attention back to him with a teasing bow.

He offered her his hand and, with an amused roll of her eyes, she accepted. They fell into step effortlessly, spinning around the floor silently for a few seconds.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?" Evie questioned.

"I didn't learn. I'm just naturally talented," Cedric answered.

Evie snorted in response. "That I find hard to believe."

"That was exceptionally unladylike," her brother pretended to scold.

"I thought I wasn't a lady," Evie countered.

"With a snort like that you definitely aren't."

"Well, I was going to tell you that you look quite handsome tonight," Evie feigned insult. "But since you're being rude…" she trailed off and sniffed haughtily.

"I'm sorry," Cedric conceded. "And thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, Hermione and I just danced ourselves breathless," Evie giggled.

"And your date?" Cedric's tone took on a fierceness Evie knew all too well.

"Down, boy, he's fine," she teased though her stomach knotted slightly. "He seems to think he can tell me what to do just because he's my date, but I've put him in his place so everything's okay now."

"Good," Cedric nodded. "If you need me to make it any more clear for him-"

"I don't, Dad," Evie answered quickly. "But thanks for always looking out for me."

"That is my job. Ready for the big finish?" Cedric smirked.

Not waiting for an answer, he lifted his sister up, twirled her around and brought her back down. The second her feet hit the floor he twirled her out, pulled her back in and dipped her just as the song ended. The entire time Evie never stopped laughing.

When her laughter died down and she finally caught her breath, she beamed up at her brother. "That's definitely the best dance I've had all night."

An upbeat song started pumping through the hall and the crowd grew more dense and louder. Zacharias somehow found his way through the crowd and pantomimed to Cedric that he wanted to take his date back.

Cedric nodded before leaning down to speak directly into Evie's ear. "I'm going to go find Cho. Have fun."

"Let's dance!" Zacharias called over the music, pulling her attention away from Cedric's retreating back.

Evie was not sure she could call what he did next dancing. Zacharias grabbed her by the waist and pulled it flush against his own. He then proceeded to gyrate against her with a sort of pained expression on his face.

For her part, Evie spent the next minute and a half pushing against his chest to try to free herself from his vice like grip. Finally she stepped on his toes and when he flinched she jumped away from him, nearly bumping into the person behind her.

"I need air!" She called over the music.

Not waiting for her date to respond, Evie fled the Great Hall. In the entrance hall she saw a few students milling around. There was a distinct lack of humidity in the air and a significant drop in temperature.

Glancing around, she noticed a small group of Slytherins chatting near the stairs. Malfoy and Zabini stood out prominently in the group and, as she was already dealing with one troublesome boy, she decided going outside to avoid two others was the best course of action.

The freezing air felt like heaven against her overheated skin. Evie closed her eyes and sighed as a breeze whipped past her, ruffling her dress. She stepped down into the grotto that had been created specifically for the ball and reveled in the fairies, rose bushes and statue of Father Christmas. She was so enraptured that she didn't notice the doors to the castle opening, or the sound of footsteps approaching her.

"There you are."

"Bloody hell!" Evie yelped grasping at her chest and whirling around to see the unwelcome reappearance of her date.

"I've been looking for you," Zacharias continued as though she had not nearly died of fright.

"I told you I needed air," Evie explained as she got her breathing back under control.

"You didn't even wait for me to come with you."

The brunette kept her mouth closed, unable to find a kind way she did not want his company.

Zacharias waited a few minutes for her to respond. When she didn't, he took a step forward and smiled. "It's beautiful out here, isn't it?"

"Mmm," Evie hummed in agreement, taking a step away from him.

"Very romantic," he commented again, advancing quicker.

"I hadn't noticed," Evie lied, stepping back quicker.

Unfortunately, as she rushed to keep the distance between them, she hit a small patch of ice and slipped. Zacharias reached her quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and holding her up.

"Thanks," Evie smiled tightly.

The blonde did not answer her. He stared into her confused eyes with an unwarranted intensity, before closing his own and moving his puckered lips close to her face.

The Gryffindor immediately jolted and pushed against his chest again. "Whoa, no! What are you doing?"

Her Hufflepuff companion chuckled. "I would've thought that was obvious."

"It is, but I mean why are you doing that?"

"This romantic setting, how much effort you put into your appearance tonight, how well everything has been going," he stared at her as though she was oblivious. "I realized you wanted this the second I saw you. I've just being waiting for the right moment. A moment you're doing a great job of blowing, by the way."

"Have you been on the same date I have? This is not going well at all. I've been trying to get away from you all night."

"You've already hooked me, you don't have to keep playing hard to get."

"I'm really, truly not playing. I promise you I want nothing more than to put many continents and repelling charms between us."

"Don't be such a prude," Zacharias snapped, leaning in again.

"Get off!" Evie shoved his chest again.

The blonde brought one of his arms further up her back, pulling her chest against his and successfully trapping her hands between their bodies. He puckered his lips once more and leaned in again. All Evie could do was turn her head to avoid the kiss.

"Stupefy!" Someone snapped from behind Zacharias.

Evie stumbled backwards as the boy crumbled to the ground unconscious. Looking up in bewilderment, she was even more shocked to find Blaise Zabini pocketing his wand once more. He looked up at her, his expression barely above mildly interested in what he'd just happened upon.

"Thought you'd pick your dates better, Diggory," he stated.

Looking down at her stunned date once more and then back up at the Slytherin, Evie furrowed her eyebrows. "You just helped me."

"Are you in shock or something? You're usually more intelligent than this."

"Why did you help me?" She clarified.

"The usual response is thank you," Zabini responded with a tone of amusement.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Zabini. Why did you help me?" Evie snapped.

Sighing, Zabini glanced around to make sure they were alone. "Because I need your help, too."


	22. Chapter 22

There was a pregnant pause in which the two just stared at each other. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Evie dissolved into a fit of laughter. Zabini raised a confused eyebrow as she continued to laugh.

"Oh, that's good," the girl gasped. "I thought…for a second…" she dissolved into giggles again. "I mean you looked so serious! You'd make an amazing actor." When her laughter subsided she actually wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye, and then checked to be sure she had not smudged her makeup.

"I wasn't joking, Diggory," Zabini drawled.

"But you must be, because you're Blaise Zabini."

"I'm aware."

"Then you must also be aware that Blaise Zabini asking Evelyn Diggory for help is not in the realm of possibility." The teal clad girl's voice quickly became less amused.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you a thousand times over."

"Are you insinuating these aren't normal circumstances?"

"I am asking for your help, aren't I?"

"How about you stop being ridiculous?"

"Are you trying to make this difficult for me?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you a thousand times over," Evie mocked. "Tonight, however, I'm not. I really do need you to stop being ridiculous."

"I'm serious, Diggory. I need your help."

"Fine, let's pretend I believe you're actually asking me for help. Let's also pretend I've forgotten you're a skivvy little Slytherin and I'm actually considering helping you. What exactly do you need my help with?"

"My parents are Pureblood Supremacist," he started. "And there have been whispers."

Evie swallowed every sarcastic quip she had. "What kind of whispers?"

"You saw what happened at the World Cup. There were whispers of something happening before that, meetings with followers leading up to it."

"By 'followers' you mean Death Eaters, right?"

The Slytherin shot her an annoyed look, but sighed and nodded none-the-less. "They're active again, just all of a sudden. I'm not stupid; I know it means they think He's coming back."

"Why?" A pit opened up in Evie's stomach.

"I don't know, and maybe they're wrong. Maybe they're all just trying to relive the 'glory days'," he air quoted the last bit. "But if they're not just being hopeful, I want to have my exit strategy ready to go."

"And your exit strategy is?"

"You," he stated simply.

Neither of them said anything for a moment as Evie waited for him to go into more detail. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, all this pausing for dramatic effect isn't doing anything but getting on my nerves. I'm going to need you to explain yourself better."

"I helped you so if He comes back, and my father tries to make me become a Death Eater, I can come to you. Then, you can vouch for me with Dumbledore, I can be protected, and there's one less Death Eater to worry about."

"Okay, just one question though. Are you out of your mind? Why the bloody hell would I put my life and my friend's lives on the line because you weren't a total prat once? Do you really think the two are even close to the same level of favor?" Evie snapped.

"Fine, just keep your voice down, Diggory," Zabini looked around. "What would it take for me to convince you that I'm not lying?"

There was silence as Evie racked her brain for some sort of solution. Smirking, she looked up into his eyes. "Talk to me."

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Now who's being slow?" She rolled her eyes again. "I don't mean just casually in the halls. I happen to like my friends, thank you very much. Write me letters. Tell me about yourself. Tell me the truth. If you do that for the rest of the year, I'll help you figure out a way to convince everyone else that you're not a Death Eater."

"What's to stop me from lying in the letters?"

"Nothing," Evie shrugged. "I'll have to take it on faith that you're being honest. But I'll comfort myself in knowing that if you're dedicated enough to this lie to write me letters, and stop insulting my friends," she added as an afterthought. "There will have been nothing else I could've done to figure out you were lying. Oh, and I've learned some things about you over the years, so I think I could catch a lie or two."

"So, tell you about myself and don't insult your friends. That's it?"

"If you can do both of those things, I'll believe you aren't like your parents and I'll help you figure out how to confront Dumbledore yourself."

Zabini considered her terms for a moment. "Alright, Diggory," he nodded. "I can do that." He turned and began to walk back towards the castle.

"Wait!" Evie called after him.

"You had something else, Diggory?" Zabini turned back to her with a look of exasperation and a quirked eyebrow.

"Two things, actually. First, if you hear anything else, let me know."

"I assumed that was part of being honest."

"Just making sure we completely understand each other."

"What's the second thing?"

"Why me?" Evie searched his eyes for the answer.

"Your opinion holds a lot of weight with Potter and his opinion holds a lot of weight with Dumbledore."

"If that's all it is you could've gone to Hermione."

"That's not all it is."

"Then," Evie sighed. "Out of all my friends, why did you come to me?"

"You're the only one who would've even considered the possibility that we're not all the same," he answered with a weird sort of certainty. He didn't give her time to question him further, turning quickly and practically running back up to the castle. Just before he opened the door he turned and revived Zacharias.

Evie turned to glance down at the groaning boy, having forgotten he was even there. She then turned back towards the castle and made her way inside as well, hoping to be gone before he completely came to.

By the time she reached the entrance hall, Evie was once again deeply immersed in her thoughts. The conversation kept playing in her head. Even though it had just happened, she couldn't help but wonder if it was a dream.

She was so engrossed she didn't notice she was about to crash into someone until it was too late. Strong, warm hands gripped her upper arms to keep her standing. Instinctively, she reached up and her hands landed on a firm chest. She righted herself and looked up.

"I'm so sor-" That's when she realized it was Malfoy.

They quickly removed their hands from each other, but neither spoke. Instead, they stared at each other for a moment. The look on Malfoy's face was unlike any Evie had seen before. It was confused, annoyed and a bit awestruck.

"What?" She asked, with much less malice than she would have usually direct towards him. For a moment she thought maybe he would indicate that he knew what Zabini had talked to her about.

"You're in my way, Diggory," he spat, his face overtaken with nothing more than annoyance.

Scoffing and shaking free from her mind the idea Malfoy might have changed, Evie braced against the coming conversation. "You bumped into me."

"Well, as your better, you should always move out of my way."

"You know what, Malfoy?" Evie smiled tightly. "I really am not in the mood to deal with you tonight." She stepped around him.

"I didn't think you were one to walk away from a fight, Diggory," he said, a hint of disappointment evident in his voice.

"Well," Evie turned to face him once more, feeling oddly satisfied with his tone. "While I'm sure this would've been the highlight of your evening, I've had a rather disappointing night and the idea of sharing that disappointment, especially with you, just fills me with joy. But, I'd savor this moment if I were you, because it's the only win you'll ever get against me." Evie smirked and turned once more.

Not two feet away she spotted Hermione on the stairs with tears in her eyes. Rushing towards her friend, Evie knelt down. "What happened?"

"Harry," Hermione sniffled. "And Ron," she hiccupped.

Evie sighed and placed an arm around her friend. "They're idiots but we knew this when we befriended them."

"They called me a traitor. He said I was fraternizing with the enemy."

Before Evie could open her mouth again, Viktor Krum came matching up.

"Hermoniny, vhy are you crying? Vhy is she crying?" He turned his question to Evie. The amount of concern in his voice made Evie smile.

"Don't worry about that, I'm handling it. But, why don't you take her for another spin on the floor? It might cheer her up."

"Oh no, I couldn't-"

"You can," Evie pressed. "Don't let them ruin this night for you. You deserve this," She added in a whisper. Then she nodded to Krum who returned the gesture and grabbed Hermione's hand.

Evie watched them go with a smile, before turning. Her face hardened instantly and she marched up the stairs to the common room with fierce purpose. There she found Harry and Ron lazing around. Seeing them look so at ease did nothing to sate her anger.

"You two!"

The boys jumped to attention instantly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What did we do?" Ron asked and the red flashed before Evie's eyes and her nostrils flared. "Oh, this is about Hermione," he explained to Harry.

"What else would it be about? Have you just been going around ruining other people's evenings as well?"

"Evie," Harry said calmly, as though trying to talk someone from a ledge.

"Shut up!" She stomped over to both of them and glared hard. "Just because you two weren't happy with who you took didn't mean you had to ruin the ball for all of us!"

"Wait-" Ron started to protest.

"How is it fair that you ruined the ball for her?" Evie poked the two with stiffened pointer fingers, hitting them in the chest with every word. Each hit caused them to flinch and back up until they were guarding themselves from her onslaught with their backs against a wall.

"Ow, Evie stop!" Ron pleaded.

"We didn't mean to upset her," Harry defended.

"I don't care what you _meant_ to do. Just a few months ago you were at each other's throats and now you're ganging up on my best friend and making her cry." Evie's breathing was coming out in short bursts. "Go to your room," she spoke low and dangerously.

"You can't just send us to our rooms," Harry frowned.

"Yeah, you aren't our mum," Ron rolled his eyes.

Evie began imagining terrible ways to torture them, projecting all these things through her eyes at them. The air around the trio seemed to cool.

"I'm tired," Harry whispered in fear.

"Yeah, let's go to bed," Ron agreed and began running for the boys' dorm, Harry hot on his heels.

"Boys!" Evie called after them, causing them to freeze and turn uneasily back towards her. "Tomorrow you will apologize so profusely to Hermione that even I might forgive you. If not, you'd best hope that tournament kills you Harry, because it would be a far kinder end than you'll get from me."

The fact that she spoke with absolute calm did nothing to grant the boys relief. Two audible gulps sounded before they turned and ran the rest of the way to their dorm.

Evie sighed, feeling both satisfied and exhausted. The night had really been a roller coaster of emotions and she wanted nothing more than the ball to be a distant memory. Thinking this she flopped, rather ungracefully, onto the couch and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later the portrait swung open and people clambered in. There was hushed talking and then someone walked up the stairs to the boys' dorms and someone sat on the couch opposite her.  
She was not excited for the interruption, but Evie opened her eyes none-the-less. Seamus was smiling awkwardly at her.

"Are you alright?"

"It's been a long night."

"You don't sound like you enjoyed the ball."

"My date was a prat, Malfoy tried to insult me, and your roommates made Hermione cry," Evie sighed. "I just wanted to have fun tonight." She sat up and looked down at her pretty teal dress sadly. She had wanted to feel beautiful and carefree just for one night.

"Well, you look amazing," Seamus responded with a blush. "And the night's not over just yet."

Evie heard more rustling and then a pair of feet appeared in her line of sight. Looking up she saw Seamus holding out a hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

Smiling her first true smile since her dance with Cedric, Evie accepted his outstretched hand and stood. There was no music, so she allowed Seamus to decide what speed they would go. Lucky for her, he picked something slow, almost a waltz.

"This is nice," Evie heard herself say and then blushed thinking she probably sounded stupid.

"Yeah? I'm sorry I didn't ask you to the ball sooner."

"That's alright. This is a pretty good way to make up for it," Evie laughed.

"Is it?"

"Yeah, this is in my top three dances of the night."

"Only top three?"

"I also danced with Cedric and Hermione, so…" Evie shrugged.

"Can't beat Hermione at anything," Seamus huffed in fake frustration and Evie giggled.

"She studied really hard," Evie sighed.

"I'm just too lazy fer that." Seamus twirled and dipped her and the imaginary song was over.

When they pulled apart Evie felt a little breathless, but she composed herself and smiled at her friend. "Thanks for this, Seamus."

"Anytime," he smiled and then looked down. "I should be getting to bed."

"Right," Evie nodded. "It is late."

"Are you going to bed too?"

"Hermione's still out. I think I'll wait up for her."

"Right…well, goodnight, Evie."

"Goodnight, Seamus."

She watched him move towards the staircase before turning back towards the couch.

"Hey, Evie," Seamus called her attention back to him. He was at the bottom of the stairs now, looking sort of flustered.

"Hmm?"

"Would you," he breathed. "WouldyouwanttahgowithmetahHogsmeadesometime?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Would you want to go to Hogsmeade with me some time?" He seemed to be forcing himself to enunciate.

Evie's mind went blank for a moment.

"You don't have to-"

"No, I'd love to!" Evie blushed as she realized how excited she sounded. "I mean, sorry, I was just shocked. I'd, um, I'd really like that."

"Okay…"

"Okay…"

"Goodnight."

"Yeah."

Seamus turned awkwardly and ran up the stairs. Evie watched him go, still trying to process what had just happened. She turned awkwardly around, trying to figure out what to do with herself. She wrung her hands and then started to sit, but the portrait swung open and she stood again.

It was only Lavender and Parvati. The girls had come in giggling. When they noticed Evie they smiled and waved. "Goodnight," the two called in unison, not stopping as they made their way towards their shared room.

"Hi, I mean, goodnight," Evie answered, earning a weird look but nothing else. When the two had fully disappeared Evie smacked her own forehead and then groaned at the pain. "Oh Merlin, just sit down and shut up," she chastised herself.

She sat lost in thought when the portrait swung open again. Hermione walked through with a bright smile on her face.

"Did you have fun then?" Evie caught her attention.

Sighing, Hermione flopped down next to her with an unending smile. "It was wonderful. You were right," she nudged Evie. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Hermione smiled again, her mind seemingly a million miles away. "You didn't kill them, did you?"

"Not yet. But you should expect groveling for forgiveness tomorrow. If not I'll kill them."

"I look forward to it."

"I thought you might," Evie smiled.

"What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting on you," Evie answered, biting her lip.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not." Her lip left the area between her teeth, but clearly not soon enough. Evie sighed in defeat. "I danced with Seamus, here in the common room."

"Really?" Hermione asked excitedly. "What happened?"

"He asked if I'd go to Hogsmeade with him sometime," Evie breathed out, still shocked by the night's turn of events.

"Oh, Evie," Hermione practically squealed. "You said yes, right?"

"Yes," Evie paused, gnawing at her lip again. "But I'm nervous. What if we go on a date and it's terrible?"

"It won't be terrible," Hermione assured her friend. "You're amazing, and Seamus is really nice. If he didn't like you already he wouldn't have asked you out."

"Thanks," Evie sighed as the butterflies in her stomach calmed a bit. "Are you ready to head to sleep?"

"Mmmhmm," Hermione hummed in agreement, standing from her spot on the couch.

Evie followed suit and the two made their way up to their room where Lavender and Parvati were already deep into their REM cycle. After they were situated and lying in bed Evie smiled and turns towards her friend.

"Did you kiss him?"

"What?" Hermione laughed nervously.

"Did you kiss Krum?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Was it nice? Was it like you imagined kissing a boy would be?"

Hermione smiled wide. "It was better."

"I can't believe you kissed Viktor Krum," Evie whispered as excitedly as she could.

"Me either!"

The friends giggled for a moment but quieted as Parvati shifted on her bed and groaned. After a glance to make sure she was still sleep, the two friends shared one more secret smile before drifting off to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

A nondescript barn owl, no doubt one the school kept for students without their own, was sitting next to Bernard. Evie took the expected letter from her father, gave Bernard a piece of toast and, after an affectionate scratch, sent him on his way. She then took the second letter, tended to that owl similarly and sent it away. After looking down at the vaguely familiar cursive, Evie glanced up to see her three best friends staring curiously at her.

"What?"

"Who's that from?" Hermione asked.

"I dunno," Evie mumbled, careful not to bite her lip.

"Sure it's for you?" Harry offered.

"Have you ever seen an owl deliver a letter to the wrong person?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, then who's writing you?"

"Why are you so nosey?"

"Just curious. You don't usually get letters from anyone other than your dad."

"Other people are allowed to write to me, you know," Evie snapped.

Harry was taken aback. "I didn't say they couldn't," he answered.

"Well, you certainly insinuated it," Evie accused. Panicking, she stood and rushed from the table before anyone could ask any other questions.

As she was leaving, she heard Harry turn to Hermione and Ron. "What did I do?"

"Women, mate. Ow."

Evie rushed out of the Great Hall and sighed. "Idiot," she chastised herself. She was going to have to get a lot better at keeping secrets if she was actually going to go through with this Zabini thing. With another sigh, she looked around. After a moment, she decided not to risk going to go to the library and being late to class. Unsure of what else to do, she started towards Herbology.

The air was frigid. She pulled her scarf tight around her and cursed her inability to think on her feet. She probably could have come up with something, had she actually expected to receive a letter from Zabini, but she hadn't. She'd been so sure her request would've been too much for him; she hadn't even considered what she'd say if anyone saw the letter and questioned her.

Shaking her head at the damage already done, she sat at the bottom of the stairs to read. She opened the one from her father first. It was the usual stuff. He asked how classes were, said how much he missed her over Christmas, wondered about the Ball and sent his love. With a small smile, Evie promised herself she would write to him soon and answer all his questions—and lie quite a bit about the Ball.

As she'd gained some distance from the night, she realized she had not helped the situation with Zacharias. She'd been in a bad mood since he hadn't been her first choice. But she couldn't bring herself to feel bad for how his night ended; he lacked self control and had a serious disregard for the word, 'no'.

Folding her father's letter, she tucked it away into her cloak. Then, after checking to make sure she was truly alone, Evie opened the second letter.

___Diggory ____Evelyn,_

_You asked that I write letters about my life, so here is the first. I'm sorry I addressed you by your last name again. I tried not to, but I went through several pieces of parchment before I gave up starting anew each time. I don't know what you want me to tell you, so I guess I'll start at the beginning. In the future, you could try to be less vague when making requests._

Evie paused for a moment to breathe. She was _vague_. How could he write that and not see the hypocrisy in his words? She was already annoyed, and it was only the first paragraph. Taking another deep breath, Evie calmed herself. He had actually written the letter—she supposed the least she could do was finish it.

_My notorious mother and her first husband, my father, brought me into this world in a huge mansion in Tuscany. I can only assume that my father was the only man Mother ever held any real affection for, since I'm her only child. We lived in that mansion, which overlooked sunflower fields, cliffs, and gaudy statues, for the first five years of my life. _

_Then we moved to England. Before my sixth birthday my father lost his life in some potions accident. His work involved dark and volatile magic so there wasn't really anything mysterious about his death. However, as you can imagine, Mother couldn't let the papers run with that story. A hefty donation to The Daily Prophet saw the end of any mention of the unsavory details. She entered a black widow phase soon after. I've only survived because I'm just her son. Despite her disinterest in romance, Mother did make friends. At the age of seven I was introduced to the Malfoys, and I've been close to Draco ever since. _

_Having friends in high places was wonderful. The Malfoys opened only the best doors for us. We ran in the most elite Pureblood circles, families like the Parkinsons, the Goyles, and the Crabbes. Our new friends were the best kind, rich and powerful. Moreover, with their friendships came a kinship of ideals. I'm sure I don't need to spell it out for you, but you asked me to be blunt. Many, if not all, of these families contained former Death Eaters. _

Evie paused again. She wasn't sure what she felt at that moment. She had known…no, she hadn't. She had speculated, as most everyone had. She had never really considered that she could be wrong, but in that moment, she knew that she could've been, and that some very small part of her had hoped she was.

_Our parents instilled in us a pride in our lineage and our pureblood status. We were told we were better, in every way, than all others because of it. I entered Hogwarts fully expecting to surpass all but other purebloods in every subject and task. Imagine my surprise when you and, in an even more embarrassing turn of events, Granger, proved me wrong. _

_It was, in fact, you who put the first seed of doubt into my mind. The day we met was the first time anyone—child or adult—had ever dared insult any of us. Draco talked of the slight endlessly for weeks. Pansy talked of it for over a month. She was determined to destroy you. Draco was baffled by your confidence and logic. Eventually, Pansy moved on to another girl she hated and began plotting new revenge. But for weeks after she forgot you, Draco and I talked of what you had said. Eventually, we both came to the conclusion that you didn't know anymore than we did, but our parents must surely know the truth, and we wouldn't let one annoying little girl tell us our parents were wrong. _

How could she believe there was truth in his words? The statements about Parkinson did hold some validity. The girl treated her like she'd murdered a beloved pet. But here he was, saying she was the reason he, and Malfoy, started questioning their parents. The boy had to think she was an idiot. She thought it was possible—if for no other reason than that history provided examples—that not all Slytherins had to be vicious, but she wasn't naive. What proof was there that either of them weren't completely terrible?

Pausing to consider the possibility, she realized Zabini had shown there might be another side to him once: the day she'd asked him not to insult her; the day he'd listened. She couldn't think of a single instance that Malfoy hadn't been terrible, though. There had been moments, she would admit, when she thought he might not be as bad as he acted, but those moments were over as soon as the thought crossed her mind.

Suddenly, the doors to the Entrance Hall opened and students poured out. Evie stuffed the letter into her cloak and stood up. She rushed off to the greenhouses and stood in her usual spot. The table was full mistletoe. Evie couldn't say she was surprised; not much else grew in the winter, and it seemed rather fitting with Christmas having just passed.

When the rest of the class filed in, her friends cast her weary looks before Professor Sprout started the lesson. The work was tedious at best, but Evie couldn't help noticing how much Neville really did thrive in Herbology. He answered more questions than the Hufflepuffs, but Professor Sprout didn't seem to mind. In fact, the older woman swelled with pride at Neville's prowess.

On the way to Care of Magical Creatures, Evie noted with suspicion that Ron and Hermione rushed ahead of her while Harry held back. He fell in step beside her and adjusted his glasses, a nervous tick she'd picked up on midway through first year.

The raven-haired boy cleared his throat.

"Yes, Harry?"

"I'm sorry for…what I said this morning?"

Evie tried very hard not to chuckle at his obvious nerves and understandable confusion. He hadn't actually said anything rude to set her off, but he seemed to fear being subjected to her wrath and so apologized, even if he wasn't sure what he was saying sorry for.

"Are you? That seemed more a question than a statement."

"I am. I didn't mean to upset you."

Smiling, Evie turned to Harry. "I'm not angry with you, Harry." The brunette couldn't help the mirthful quiver of her voice.

"You aren't?"

"No, of course not," Evie sighed and waved his worry away. "I received a letter from an old friend who really hurt me, though it wasn't her fault. We haven't talked since before I got my letter for Hogwarts."

"You've never talked about any old friends."

"Well, as I said, we stopped talking before I even met you." Evie actively worked to keep her lip from curling between her teeth. "She was just writing to apologize and ask how I was."

"Are you going to forgive her?"

"Not quite so easily. But I think I'll write her back. She put in a lot of effort; I can at least return the favor, don't you think?" Evie took great pleasure in turning Zabini into a girl to her friends, but she also very much needed to hear them agree that writing him back was a good idea—even if they didn't really know who he was.

"Worth a shot, I think. It's always nice to end a feud with a friend," Harry replied.

His answer actually made the girl feel guiltier, because she knew he was thinking of Ron, and he would most certainly not agree if he realized what he'd just encouraged her to do.

"Yeah," Evie answered with a pit opening in her stomach.

* * *

That evening after dinner, Evie disappeared to the back of the library. Pulling out Zabini's letter, she finished reading what was left of it.

_Most of everything else I could tell you, you already know, because it takes place during my school years. I really started questioning my Mother and all the other adults in my life when I met Granger, and she embarrassed me soundly in almost every class we had together. Your words found their way back into the forefront of my mind, and I even dared to speak to Draco about the situation. It did nothing but put him in a fouler mood than he had been. _

_That's all I have, __Dig __Evelyn. I don't know what else you want me to say. I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to expect an owl back, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. _

_B_

Evie narrowed her eyes at the ending of the letter. She was going to write him back, of course. She just wasn't sure what to say. She could confirm the rumors surrounding Mrs. Zabini. The woman went through more husbands than anyone Evie had ever heard of. She also knew that Malfoy and Zabini had been friends for a while before she'd ever met them.

Sighing, Evie wrote a reply to her father first. After she finished it, she put it away and stared at the next piece of empty parchment. She moved her quill in circles over the paper. Minutes passed, and she sat with the quill hovering.

After several long minutes, Evie set the quill back in the ink pot and groaned. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to write?" She said, muffling her words in her hands.

"Evie?"

The brunette jumped, hiding her still empty parchment and turning.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Cho Chang held up her hands.

"N-no, it's alright. I just wasn't expecting anyone to find me back here," Evie answered, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. She paused, noting that the red her friends had mentioned over a week ago seemed to be spreading. Shaking her head, she decided to leave that problem for another day.

"Is that why you're back here?"

"Sort of, but I don't mind the distraction. What are you doing back here?"

Cho held up a book and smiled. "O.W.L.S this year," she said, offering no other explanation, but that was enough for Evie.

Evie nodded. "Not looking forward to that."

"Really? Cedric always says you're doing great in all your classes."

"He does?" Evie perked up.

Cho laughed lightly. "Yeah, you should hear him go on sometimes. He almost sounds like a father."

"Sounds like him. Dad's always joking that he took the job of looking after me too much to heart," Evie blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I think it's really sweet," Cho assured the younger girl.

"Yeah, don't know what I'd do without him." Evie glanced down at the table with a small smile.

A comfortable silence drifted between the two girls for a moment before Cho jerked to attention.

"What was it you were working on?"

"Oh…just a letter I can't think of how to write."

"Writing home?"

"No, actually. I'm writing to someone I haven't spoken to in a very long time."

"What about?" There was that old Ravenclaw curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking." It was definitely an afterthought to be polite and not probe, but Evie didn't really mind.

"Well, that's sort of the problem. I don't know what to say."

"What did they say?"

"She told me everything that had happened since we last spoke."

"So, why not start there? Tell her you got the letter, maybe comment of some of the things she said and then tell her what you've been up to."

"That's a great idea. Thanks, Cho."

"No problem." Cho waved away Evie's gratitude before glancing at her watch. "I've got to get back to the common room to study, but good luck with your friend."

"Thanks. Good luck studying," Evie waved the ebony haired girl off before turning back to the empty and slightly crumpled parchment.

_Z,_

_First thing first, stop calling me Evelyn. The only person who calls me that is my father, and only when I'm in really big trouble. At least in these letters, try to address me as Evie. That being said, I'm surprised you've actually written to me at all. I half-expected to never hear from you again. I guess you're more serious than I thought. _

_I had to lie to my friends when they asked about the letter I'd gotten. You're now a girl I used to be friends with. We ended on bad terms, and then you moved away. You decided to get back in touch, see how I was and if we could mend old wounds. I have decided to be gracious and allow said mending to take place. So, I forgive you for your past transgressions… You don't have a name yet so I suppose you can pick one out. What would you have been called if you were a girl? Do try to be clever, Zabini. Don't just go with the female version of your name—that wouldn't even make sense and it would take Hermione two seconds to figure it out._

_You kept mentioning M in your letter. You can't honestly expect me to believe that he feels the same way you do. What has he ever done to hint that he's not identical to his parents? Look, I might be willing to give you a chance—though it's a very slim chance—but you can't expect me to do the same for him. Not without some sort of proof, at least._

Evie added the last line of that paragraph after a moment's hesitation. Malfoy was always an annoying elitist, but if it was all an act, if he wanted a way out, what kind of person would she be to deny him that? Certainly not the sort of person her brother would be proud of, though he was the one who told her not to try to change Malfoy's mind so many years ago. No, if Cedric saw proof that he was better than his parents, Evie was sure he wouldn't turn his back on the idea of helping Malfoy better himself.

_Also, I noticed you mentioned your father when we spoke at the Ball, but you just told me in this letter that your father died when you were six. Do you call all your stepfathers 'father'? Or is this one special? Are you worried about disappointing him, or are you worried you'd be punished for not doing what he told you? I might be overstepping, but I want to understand your family dynamic better so I know what I'm dealing with._

_Other than that, I suppose there's nothing left I need you to elaborate on. I hope to hear from you soon. Oh, and next time you want to complain to someone about being vague, make sure you haven't been as vague as a prophecy yourself first._

_E_

Satisfied with both letters, Evie sealed them and made her way quickly to the Owlery. She sent the first letter off, but to the second owl she said, "I don't know how this works, but don't give this to Blaise Zabini until tomorrow morning."

The tawny owl made a clicking sound that could have passed for annoyance or sarcasm.

"Oh, so it's my fault I don't know how you do things?" The owl clicked at her again. "No need to be rude. Maybe next time I won't ask you to mail my letters." The owl ruffled his feathers. Evie huffed, handed him the letter and walked out.

* * *

The next letter came two days later. Evie didn't say anything to her friends, but Harry gave her a small smile. Even though she felt herself return it, Evie felt guilty. He was being really encouraging about a possible friendship; he'd be furious with her if he knew the truth.

_Evelyn,_

_I finally managed to do that without writing your last name first, so how about we take smaller steps. If you're really that afraid of your nosy friends, don't read this in public, or lie. You can't possibly be that terrible at lying; you keep getting into dangerous situations all the time—you have to lie a bit for those, don't you?_

Evie closed her eyes but kept from pinching the bridge of her nose. Was he always going to be so insufferable when she was helping him? The freckled brunette began wondering just what she'd gotten herself into and if she had the patience for it. She'd already lied to her best friends, though, so quitting now when he was holding up his end of the bargain seemed stupid. Besides, she reasoned, important information could come from the correspondence.

_Glad to see my commitment is no longer in question. Contrary to popular belief, not all Slytherins are lining up to join the cause, or interested in the dark arts. If nothing else, you should never doubt that I would rather not give my life for an already once failed cause. Self-preservation is one of my favorite things._

_As far as my father is concerned, he has been with my mother the second longest. I'm sure you know her ring finger used to look like an advertisement for all the best jewelers, but she's been with Lionel Rosier longer than anyone except my father, so I stopped calling him stepfather at Mother's request. Also, calling him 'stepfather number seven' was apparently both insulting and embarrassing. Neither of them took too kindly to it, and after a convincing punishment, I conceded. I have no emotional connection to him, if that's your concern. To answer your questions, he isn't special to me, but surely is to Mother. I could not care less about disappointing him, but I would be punished if I disobeyed. However, I would like to point out that this entire conversation is something neither of them would approve of, so you shouldn't be worried that I will change my mind. _

_M, if that's how you wish to address him, is not someone I can tell you about. Not to be misunderstood, I could tell you almost everything about him. I'm his oldest and closest friend, but you know that, which is why you're asking. What I mean is, it's not my place to tell you how he feels about the whole situation. I've been entrusted with his thoughts, and though it may surprise you, Slytherin loyalty rivals that of the Hufflepuffs. If and when he decides to be clear about his views, he will be. However, if you wish me to relay the offer of an out, I will. I'm not saying he'll take it, or care, I'm just saying I'll relay the message._

_I saved the issue of my secret identity for last because I would like to express how annoyed I am with the choice you made. I can't help feeling, Diggory, that you took some sort of joy in turning me into a female._

Evie smirked and glanced up in the direction of the Slytherin table. Zabini looked up and Evie wondered if he'd been doing that periodically the entire time she'd been reading. His eyes narrowed as he saw her smirk, but the moment lasted no more than a few seconds. She scanned the rest of the hall as though that had been her original plan and he quickly returned to his food. The only one who seemed to notice the hint of a moment was Malfoy, who narrowed his eyes as hers slid across his. Evie blinked and then returned to the letter.

_Seeing as you've already done it and it can't be reversed, refer to me as Eris. That should be impossible for Granger to track back to me, or any male for that matter. In the future, however, I would appreciate if you would confer with me before making up any other stories about me to your friends. I'd hate for the next thing you tell them to be that I'm muggleborn or unattractive. _

_Eris_

Evie rolled her eyes at the last bit and folded the letter up. If he wanted her to talk to him about any more lies she told, she would. She just didn't understand how being muggleborn or unattractive were bad things, or why they were the same level of bad.

_Eris,_

_While your level of loyalty to M does indeed astound me, I can and will respect it. I don't know if I'm actually extending an offer to him. My statement was that, if he chose to show interest in being better than his parents, I would allow him the same chance I'm allowing you. I didn't extend the offer to you, you came to me, so I suppose I would expect the same level of commitment from him. Or, perhaps a better word is, the same level of risk. That's all I'm saying on the subject of him, unless there is good reason to bring him up again._

_Rosier…I've heard that name before. I can't place it, but I know I've heard it. Honestly, yes, I had heard that your mother's heart—or bedroom—was a revolving door of men. Sorry, that was rude, but the rumor was quite unflattering. Are all your parents so cruel? I mean, from what I've seen, you guys get some pretty harsh punishments for not following the rules. I don't know if it's all true, or just stories made up to remind me why Pureblood Supremacists are terrible people. 'They aren't even nice to their children'; that sort of thing. _

_Those seem to be the most important things I needed to talk to you about, so I guess the rest is up to you. You can keep telling me bits about your childhood, and keep me informed about anything you hear, of course. As far as my ability to lie goes, with most people it's not a problem, but apparently I have a telltale sign that my friends and family have caught on to. Also, not insulting me was part of this agreement, so you should keep that in mind for your next letter. Anyway, nice talking to you as always, Eris…until next time, stay as dainty as ever, my dear. _

_Evelyn_

* * *

"Cedric!" Evie rushed after her brother's retreating back.

"Hey, Little Diggory." Grant, Cedric's oldest friend, smiled as the two turned towards her.

"Chubby Grant, how are you?"

Grant rolled his eyes, but smirked all the same. "You'll give that up one day."

"Not until you do."

"Did you come to see me, or did you come to mess with Grant? I can just go." Cedric half turned and eyed his sister.

"I actually did come to see you."

"Alright, guess that's my cue to leave." Grant waved at both Diggorys before turning to continue in the direction he and Cedric had been heading.

The siblings both waved at his retreating back before turning back to each other.

"How's everything going?" Cedric asked.

"I could be worse. How are you? I haven't really had a chance to talk to you since classes started back up."

"Yeah, well on top of being a champion, it's also still my last year. I have to get ready for NEWTS. The workload is insane."

"That's so reassuring, big brother. Now, I definitely want to stay in school."

"Yeah, whatever. At least I'm preparing you. I could've let you figure it out on your own."

"No, you couldn't have. You're too nice."

The duo made their way to the courtyard again and sat on a bench.

"So, how are you doing with your weird gold egg?"

"I figured it out."

"You stopped the screeching?"

"Yeah, I also figured out the riddle. What about Harry?"

"I don't think he's even figured out how to stop that terrible noise, let alone that it's supposed to be a riddle."

"What?"

"What?" Evie tilted her head at Cedric.

"He didn't take it in the water?"

"Why would he do that?"

"I told him…well, I hinted, you know, because he told me about the dragon, that he should take a bath with it in the Prefects bathroom."

Annoyance rippled through Evie. "When did you tell him that?"

"During the Yule Ball. I'd only just figured it out myself."

"That stupid…" Evie huffed, trying to control her annoyance. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I've got to go knock some sense into Harry."

"It's alright, just don't forget to come see me sometime."

"You could come see me too, you know." Evie raised an eyebrow at her brother.

Cedric sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've been pretty bad, haven't I?"

Evie shrugged.

"I'll make more time for you, I promise." Cedric pulled Evie into a hug, and then surprised her by kissing the top of her head.

"What was that for?" Evie pulled away and looked up at Cedric with furrowed eyebrows.

"Because you're my baby sister and I love you."

"Are you okay?"

Cedric laughed and let go. "Of course I am."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I can't tell you I love you without there being something wrong?"

"Not usually."

"Just go yell at Harry, but don't kill him. I'm not visiting you in Azkaban if you do."

"You always know how to ruin my fun." But Evie waved all the same and turned to head towards her common room.

Harry was in there with Ron and Hermione, the latter of whom was helping the other two go over their homework.

Evie walked up to her friends, quickly catching the attention of a very bored Ron.

"Where have you been?" The redhead cut through Hermione's notes on the Goblin Rebellions.

"I went to see Cedric." Evie didn't even glance at Ron. She turned her attention to glaring at Harry instead. "I need to speak with you."

"Can it wait? Hermione was just-"

"Now."

She didn't wait for him to answer. She marched right back out of the portrait hole and waited. Harry clambered out one minute later, looking uneasy.

"What is wrong with you?" Evie rounded on him quickly.

"What did I do?"

"Cedric told you how to figure out the egg during at the Yule Ball."

"All he said was to take it for a bath." Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Which was a hint and you know it. He was trying to pay you back for the dragon." Evie lowered her voice and glanced around to make sure they weren't overheard.

"I don't need his help." Harry's face scrunched together.

"Oh, so you've already figured it out then?" Evie raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "You know it's not screeching, it's a riddle?" She watched Harry's eyes widen. "You know what the riddle says and how to handle the second task, which is coming up very soon?"

Harry's face paled. "It's a riddle?"

"So you don't know?" Evie's face dropped and her mouth set in a thin line. "I didn't think so. You're running out of time, and you can't afford to be petty anymore, Harry. Cedric is trying to help you, so you can either carry on acting like a whiny brat, or you can take his help and survive this tournament." She paused as a first year walked by them to get into the common room. "Take that stupid egg for a bath or I'll throw you both is the lake myself. Banana fritters." Evie, once again, gave Harry no time to argue. She said the password and stomped into the common room, before plopping herself onto a giant plush chair.

Ron and Hermione shared a cautious look, but neither said anything. Harry walked in two minutes later and returned to his original seat.

"I think," he paused and glanced at Evie. "I think I'm going to take the egg into water. I got the password for the Prefects bathroom and I'm going tonight to figure it out."

"You said you already worked it out." Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"I was mistaken."

Hermione turned to Evie for answers.

"He's fixing it. Cedric offered some help."

"What d'you need us to do, mate?" Ron asked.


	24. Chapter 24

"So merpeople are taking something from you and you've got to get it back?" Hermione summed up Harry's long winded explanation of what had happened the following night.

"Yes, but that's not what's important."

"You don't exactly have much time to figure out how to breathe underwater for an hour." Evie paused and ran her teeth over her bottom lip. "But, Crouch being in Snape's office is weird."

"Didn't Percy say Mr. Crouch was sick? Why would he lie about that?" Hermione turned to Harry.

Something stirred in the back of Evie's mind. She reached for it, furrowing her brow as she realized it was just beyond her grasp. "Something feels off about this."

"Crouch was snooping around in Snape's office. Snape has been having secret conversations with a Death Eater and Harry might drown. This is basically every year for us."

Evie rolled her eyes at the ginger boy across from her, but she couldn't dispute him. "What arm was Snape holding?"

"His left."

"Why is that…" The crease between her eyebrows deepened. "Why does that feel significant?"

"What're you looking at me for? Hermione's the one who knows everything." Ron's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"No. I don't think she would know this. It feels like something _we_ should know." Her finger danced between them.

"Where did you hear about it?" Harry asked.

Evie scoffed. "If I knew that I wouldn't be having so much trouble remembering." The girl sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated. I know I know this. I just can't think."

"We don't need to figure this out tonight." Hermione offered a calming smile. "The more immediate issue is how Harry's going to breathe underwater for an hour. We aren't advanced enough to do human transfiguration."

"I don't know any spells that could help either."

"We're going to have to go to the library aren't we?" Ron groaned.

Evie and Hermione smiled.

* * *

_Dear Eris,_

_I need your help. I think something dangerous is going on and I think you might have information that could help me figure at least part of it out. This is a great chance for you to prove that you're willing to share information that might help Harry. It will also make me more willing to vouch for you. Please meet me by the lake immediately after dinner. I'll make sure we aren't seen talking._

_ Evie_

When she finished the letter even breathing and Parvati's light snoring were once again the only sounds in the room. Evie had waited until she was sure Hermione was sleeping to quietly get out of bed and quill the letter. She'd decided to write it after the stirring in her brain had become too much. She knew she was forgetting something important, and had begrudgingly admitted to herself who might be the only person that could help her figure it out.

Evie crept from the dorm down to the common room. The fire was nothing but embers by then and she stubbed her toe on a chair trying to make her way across the space. Grunting, but forcing herself not to let out any of the imaginative words flying through her mind, Evie kept going.

At the bottom of the opposite spiral staircase, she hesitated. A silent argument raged inside of her. She ended it by reminding herself that what she was doing might seem wrong, but could ultimately help her friends more than it would hurt them.

Breathing deeply, she continued to the very top of the stairs. Pausing, she pulled out her wand. "Silencio," she whispered at the creaky door.

It opened, at her behest, without a sound. Evie peeked and waited for something or someone to react. When she heard nothing after a minute, she entered completely. Though the room was dark, it was set up exactly like her own so she had no trouble moving around. Knowing Harry's bed was next to Ron's she knew exactly where to go.

The third trunk on the right was thankfully clear of any clutter. Opening it as quietly as she could manage, Evie pulled out her wand once more. "Accio, Invisibility Cloak." She practically breathed the words instead of speaking them. Guilt crashed over her in waves, nearly drowning her, but her concentration was steady and the cloak lifted up to her easily.

Evie quickly wrapped the pilfered item around her, closed the trunk and stood. She paused just long enough to glance at the bed in front of her and mouth an apology before she rushed out of the room, making sure to reverse her spell on the door before she descended the stairs.

Oddly enough, the late night trek to the Owlery was the easiest part of the night. The Invisibility Cloak ensured she wasn't seen, and she'd run the corridors enough times, both at night and during the day, to remember her way without much thought. Only twice did she nearly run into Filch or Mrs. Norris. The first time she simply slowed her pace and sidestepped Filch. The second time she had to jump into a particularly dusty alcove to throw off Mrs. Norris.

That night she stared at her canopy until her eyes burned with sleep and she couldn't keep them open any longer. Her dreams were twisted and uncomfortable.

* * *

Evie's betrayal sat heavy at the bottom of her bag. It almost felt like it was burning a hole through the cloth. Every few minutes she shifted and glanced up toward the Slytherin table. Post took longer than usual that day, or maybe it didn't, Evie couldn't tell.

The screech on Malfoy's eagle owl signified the moment of truth. Glancing up every so often, Evie watched a small brown owl drop her letter in front of Zabini. He opened it in the same manner he did everything, an air of boredom that suggested that life itself was tedious to him. His eyes traced the page twice. An inky eyebrow raised. Browns eyes met hers over parchment. When he was sure she was watching he looked back down, nodded at the letter with raised eyebrows, and folded the paper again.

All of this took only a minute. Evie had glanced up and surveyed the Great Hall as nonchalantly as she could manage. Unfortunately, the last pair of eyes she found were not the deep brown of Zabini's but the ice grey of Malfoy's. He'd narrowed them into sickles which he swung between Evie and Zabini.

Turning back to her food, Evie wondered how much Zabini was telling Malfoy about their arrangement. He certainly knew more than her friends. What he didn't know he was suspicious about. Evie had to tighten her grip on her silverware to keep it from slipping from her slick palms.

"D'you think he'd help?"

Becoming aware that the conversation her friends were having beside her had stopped, Evie turned to them. Their eyes were trained on her. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you thought Cedric might help us? Loan us an Advanced Charms book or something?" Hermione scanned her face, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yes, of course. I was actually just thinking of asking him. He might not be eager to offer more assistance, but I'm sure I could at least get a book. I'm going to catch up with him after dinner while you head off to the library."

"Why don't you just ask him now?" Ron spooned the last of the food on his plate into his mouth.

"It's almost time for class and I need time to persuade him."

"So ask him at lunch."

"I can't. I just told you I needed time to persuade him. Plus, with other Hufflepuff's around he's less likely to cave. Especially since he won't be sure it's not offering you an unfair advantage to help more than he already has."

"That's ridiculous."

"Hi, have you met my brother? Tall, brown hair, Hufflepuff. All about fairness, justice, loyalty and family. He almost gave up a win over Gryffindor last year because Harry was attacked by a Dementor. Ringing any bells?"

The three Gryffindors around her started smiling. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Starting to sound a bit familiar."

"That's who I'm going up against."

The bell rang and the quartet gathered their bags. Evie's felt heavier than usual. She had to work to keep it from weighing her down as they made their way to the greenhouses. She should have known then how rough the day would be.

She spent twice as long taking her books out every class. She spent half of every class readjusting how it sat at her feet. Everytime she touched it her fingertips burned. If none of this was bad enough, she couldn't help but notice Harry also seemed uncomfortable.

_He knows. _Evie thought as she watched her bespectacled friend shift uncomfortably in his seat again. She hadn't been able to stop herself from noting he always did it after she fidgeted with her bag. _He knows and he's angry. _

The rest of her day was spent this way.

_Of course he doesn't know._

_Then why is he fidgeting?_

_If he knew he'd have said something._

_He's hoping I'll return it. Or I'll at least ask._

_No, he's torturing me. The fidgeting is punishment._

_Stop being stupid, Evie. If you don't calm down he really will know._

"Evie?"

"Hmm?" Glancing from Hermione's knitted brow to Harry and Ron just behind her and the nearly empty classroom, Evie stood up.

"Are you alright?"

"What? Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" The freckled girl quickly packed up her books and slung her bag over her shoulder. She shifted it to redistribute the weight.

"You've been off all day."

"Hermione, I'm fine." She shift the bag's position on her shoulders. "I've just been thinking about Harry's problem. I can't believe I don't know a spell for this."

"We have time still."

"Hermione's right. You shouldn't be feeling guilty. This isn't all on you."

Evie's eyes connected to Harry's with so much speed that she felt a muscle in her neck protest. "I never said I felt guilty."

"Yeah you did, just now." Ron had turned to stare at Harry as well. Hermione's eyes darted between two of her friends. "Didn't you?"

"No. I mean I do feel bad, but I never said I felt guilty."

Evie searched hard, but she couldn't find any malice in his eyes. She also couldn't honestly say that she felt as though Harry knew what she had done.

"It must've been your face, then. Hermione saw it too." Harry disconnected their eyes and shrugged.

Evie turned to Hermione. For a moment her friend's face was torn, then Hermione shrugged. "You have looked upset."

"Yeah." Evie nodded and rubbed the side of her neck with the angry muscle. "Of course I have. Let's get dinner."

She started forward, not making eye contact with any of her friends. They fell into step around her and she felt Hermione glance between her and Harry once more. Evie pretended she didn't notice.

They got to dinner and as soon as food was on their plates, Hermione began strategizing how they would tackle the library. Harry and Ron listened and groaned. Evie tuned it all out, preferring to try to decipher Harry's earlier statement. It wasn't the first time he'd seemed to have a better understanding of her emotions then Hermione.

Evie wondered what was happening to Harry, and her for that matter. The dreams, the pain in their marks, though hers was different, and his sudden intuitiveness when it came to her emotions...that might have been the weirdest thing of all.

Harry was terrible with girls. He was terrible with emotions in general. He always had too many or not enough. She was constantly reining him in, reminding him to stay level headed. So why was he able to deem with such ease what she was feeling?

"Aren't you going to eat?" Evie glanced up at Ron, who was watching her push her food around her plate.

"I'm not very hungry."

"Are you nervous about talking to your brother?"

"Maybe, why?" Evie stared hard at Harry again.

"Well, I just guessed. I mean, I can't eat when I'm nervous." He looked uncomfortable.

"Cedric seems to be in a good mood." Hermione pointed her fork towards the Hufflepuff table.

Cedric was laughing at something Maxine, the Hufflepuff Beater, was saying. Cho was seated beside him. She was laughing too, but not as fully as Cedric. Nobody laughed as fully as Cedric.

"Maybe this'll be easier than you thought." Ron took a piece of bread off her plate.

"There were rolls left."

"I know," he answered with a mouth full of her food.

"How does Ginny put up with brothers like you and the twins?"

"I don't," the younger redhead called as Ron opened his mouth to protest.

Hermione and Harry burst out laughing. Evie just smiled. Ron tried to look as insulted as he could muster with cheeks the size of a chipmunk's.

The plates cleared themselves soon after that and students started leaving the Great Hall. Evie saw her friends to the stairs and waved them off, before turning like she was heading to the Hufflepuff common room. Instead she slipped into an alcove just before the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Pulling Harry's Invisibility cloak out of her bag, Evie wrapped herself in it and stepped out of the alcove, watching the crowd thin out as students drifted to their destinations. When she could slip through them without fear of bumping into anyone Evie set off to the giant front doors of the castle.

Hardly anyone was outside. It was cold and snow was still falling heavily. Evie passed a couple giggling just out of the light of the entrance hall. When she glance at them she had to quickly look away. They were tangled together, snogging like they were never going to see each other again. Picking up the pace, Evie glanced towards the lake where a single silhouette was gliding from side to side.

"Zabini?" Evie whispered when she was close enough for him to hear her.

The Slytherin turned quickly, his eyes darting left and right. "Diggory?"

"No, it's the other person you snuck out here to meet." Evie rolled her eyes, then wished he could see her roll her eyes.

"You brought me out here to freeze while you snipe at me then?" He raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, then began pacing again.

Evie fell into step beside him. "No, of course not."

"Then let's get this over with, shall we? What did you want?"

"Harry saw something...confusing the night before last."

"Potter was out and about after hours again, was he? I should die from the surprise."

"Now who's sniping?"

"What spell did you use?"

"I didn't. It's an invisibility cloak."

"You have an invisibility cloak?"

"Well...no…"

"You _stole_ an invisibility cloak?" He was smirking.

"I only borrowed it. I'm giving it back tonight."

"Who did you steal it from?"

"Borrowed! And, none of your business. Focus, I didn't call you out here so you could be insufferable. You could do that anywhere."

"Fine, thief. What did you want?"

"Where do Death Eaters get their Dark Marks?"

He stopped moving then, glancing in the direction of her voice. He looked at the top of her head. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"I did. Why do you want to know?"

"I told you, Harry saw something."

"What did he see?"

"That wasn't part of this deal."

"So I'm supposed to give you all the information I have but you'll give me nothing in return?"

"I'm not the one who needs to earn trust here." Evie glared hard, once again wishing he could get the full effect of her face.

He scoffed, his breath leaving in a large white puff of frustration. Shaking his head, Zabini ran a hand across his hat. Evie wondered if he'd had hair once since the gesture seemed pointless without it.

Zabini started pacing again. "Fine."

"Where, Zabini?"

"What if I don't know?"

"You've grown up around them your whole life. Do you really not know? Can it be hidden? Is it somewhere it wouldn't normally be seen?"

"It can be hidden. It's not like it's on their foreheads." Zabini stopped again, stuffed his hands into his pockets and kicked the snow. He started moving once more. "Left forearm."

This time Evie stopped. Zabini didn't notice. She didn't care that he didn't.

Had Harry even said that's where Snape had grabbed his arm? He must've because she knew that's where it was. She couldn't recall the moment he'd said it, maybe it was more of a gesture. Harry did move a lot when he talked, didn't he? He must've said, or showed her. But that couldn't have been right.

_Dumbledore wouldn't….he couldn't...not after what they did. Surely he'd have told Harry. Surely he wouldn't let one teach. But then, Karkaroff is a Headmaster. But Durmstrang is different. Dumbledore wasn't like that. But Harry had definitely told her, in one way or another... _

"Draco?"

The name snapped Evie back to solid ground. She looked up just in time to watch Malfoy finish his march straight to Zabini. She slowed her breathing.

"What in Merlin's name is going on with you, Blaise?"

"I don't know what you mean, mate." Zabini lied like he was telling the absolute truth. Evie had to suppress a shiver.

"Don't treat me like an idiot. You and Diggory stealing bloody glances during meals, the letters, pacing out here alone in the middle of winter?" His voice sounded disbelieving about Zabini being alone. Evie was both impressed and terrified. "What did you do?"

"Mate…" Evie realized in that second what Zabini was going to do. "I told you I was jumping ship before something real happened."

Malfoy's eyebrows turned into a unibrow for a split second before they separated and found his hairline. His eyes were overtaking the rest of his features. "You didn't?"

"I did."

"When?"

"The Yule Ball. Saved her from her handsy date."

"Did she actually listen?"

"A bit. She's hesitant, but I think...I think it could work."

"She's hesitant?" Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "What did she want from you?"

"How do you know she wanted something?"

"It's Diggory. She's not stupid, she'd want some sort of assurances."

"Information, conversation, commitment and chivalry."

"So the letters?"

"Conversation and commitment. Also, the only way we know how to get in touch if we, meaning she, needs something."

"Like information? About Him? About our parents and friends?"

"Were they ever really our friends?" Zabini smirked.

"No. Our parents?"

"Him. She mostly just wants information on Him, a little warning if another World Cup is going to happen, and sometimes she asks about things to help Potter."

"My father was apart of the World Cup thing."

"So was mine...you know what I mean," the darker Slytherin amended when Malfoy shot him a look.

They were an amazing contrast side by side. Evie rarely got the chance to notice since she was always yelling at one or the other. Zabini was dark everywhere, his eyes, what little hair he had, his lips, even his voice was somehow darker. Perhaps fuller was a better word. Malfoy was just the opposite. He was so pale. Pale eyes, pale hair, pale lips, and even though his voice was deep as well, it was still lighter.

"Look, I'm sure if you asked her, she'd make sure not to hurt your family. She might even try to help them. Don't you want to save your mum?"

"What about Potter? Is he going to save my mum too? Is he going to promise not to kill my father if he gets the chance?"

"With her on your side, maybe." Zabini shrugged. "It's a better shot than having no one, isn't it?"

"Do you trust her?"

"No, but we're Slytherins. We don't trust anyone." Zabini smirked again.

"She wouldn't listen to me." Malfoy shook his head. "I don't even know if I want her to. She's annoying, self righteous, proud, smug...she never knows when to shut up, never knows how to stop arguing."

"Are you sure you're describing me? That sounds an awful lot like you," Evie snapped before she could think better of it.

Everyone froze. Malfoy whipped his head first to the source of the noise then to Zabini.

"Great job, Diggory."

Sighing, Evie shifted the Invisibility Cloak so she was wearing it like a cloak. She kept the back of her head covered and facing the castle so onlookers would just think Malfoy and Zabini were alone.

"Malfoy." Evie gave the faintest nod.

"You've been there this whole time then?"

"...yeah."

She watched his pale jaw clench, relax, clench again. His fists flexed at his side. She couldn't tell who, or maybe what, he was most angry with.

They stood, staring at each other, for a few minutes. Evie realized her toes were freezing. Her fingers felt like ice. Zabini watched them watch each other in her peripheral.

"Malfoy?" He just raised an eyebrow. It was hard to differentiate it from his skin in the dark, but she knew the expression well. "I sort of lied to be here so I don't have all night. You don't have to do this, and I won't be surprised if you don't, but I need to know where we stand. I need to know if I can trust you to at least keep your mouth shut."

He huffed out the same frustrated puff of white Zabini had earlier. He made her wait a minute longer.

"I want out, Diggory."

"I have stipulations."

"Of course you do."

"Letters about you, about your life. The truth, Malfoy, not whatever nonsense you tell people to seem happy or interesting."

"I am interesting."

"For the rest of the year. Cut down the insults to Harry, Ron and especially Hermione."

"I'll cut down the insults to Granger."

Evie rolled her eyes. This time someone saw. "I want information, if you get any."

"About?"

"You know what about."

"Fine. I have stipulations as well."

"You're the one asking for help."

"Just one, actually. Save my mother too."

"Done."

Another pause. It was the longest she'd ever looked into his eyes without glaring. Maybe it was the only time she'd ever done so.

He looked down. "Fine, Diggory. You save my mum and I'll give you information."

"And…?"

"Write the bloody letters and stop making Granger cry." Malfoy's face twisted in disgust.

"Glad you're making this so easy, Malfoy." Evie tasted the sarcasm on her lips. "Fine. You've got yourself a deal."

"Fine."

"Fine," Evie snapped before covering herself fully with the cloak and rushing off towards the castle.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. This secret was getting too big, and she needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore.


End file.
